MOM
by Renegade2083
Summary: "So, what do you think we should do?" - "I don't know, but we have to bring them back together." The plan was in motion to get their mother's back together, but will everything be so easy? Other Characters I couldn't place : Rhea and Elia. As always, French here so I apologize if I have ruined your language ! :) Reviews always appreciated !
1. Chapter 1

"Stop stealing my make-up Elia!" – "I didn't steal it I don't care about that! I don't need it tio be pretty!" – "Shut up and give it back to me! Mom!" Lightning closed her eyes. She stayed on the toilet a few more seconds while her two girls were still arguing about stolen make-up, her thumbs reaching her temples to massage them carefully at the next wave of insults. "Just look inside your own bag Rhea and give it back!"

"I don't have it stop annoying me!" – "MOM!" She sighed heavily as she stood up to flush, taking all the time in the world to wash her hands the next second before going outside the bathroom to reach the other one located a little further away and pushed the bathroom door with anger, spotting the two girls holding toothbrushes as weapons, her arms folding across her chest at their sight. "Mom tell Elia to give it back to me."

"Mom I didn't do anything she's lying!" Lightning looked at her two daughters back and forth, her teeth slightly grinning against each other while the two girls were slowly putting their weapons down to look at their mother starting to get annoyed by the constant arguing every single morning.

"Listen to me both of you. Rhea, you probably left your make-up at Mum's place, Elia, if you have it simply give it back before I get angry. I've had enough of you two arguing for such futile things. If I hear another word, I will make sure make-up is the last word coming out from both of your mouths. Clear enough?" she observed the two girls nodding painfully before stumbling out of the bathroom with her fists tightly clenched and made her way back inside the kitchen to finally finish her coffee before going to work for her long day.

She sighed heavily, wondering why on earth these girls were always pushing her buttons so soon in the morning, even before enjoying her morning coffee completely. She sighed again, slowly making her way back inside the living room to look at the two teenagers pouting at the table, casting a look at both of them with a shake of the head. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes."

Rhea, the older one nodded and brought her mug closer to her lips to enjoy her own coffee. She scratched her forehead, placing her blond hair away from her face to tie them up in a pony-tail while Elia was simply drawing circles on the glass table with her fingernail, discreetly cursing between her lips. The older one was 17 years old and was in the last year of high-school while Elia was fifteen, meaning that the two girls were always arguing about non important things better than focusing on their homework's or simply studies. "Mom? Are you seeing Mum today or not?"

"I don't know yet, why?" Lightning waited patiently for an answer, the frown she had for the past ten minutes getting only bigger as Rhea was slightly opening her mouth to speak up. "If this is about your make-up Rhea…" – "What? No, no not at all. I just wondered."

"It's not planned at all." She responded as her eyes were narrowing to stare at the ground, the feeling of anger she had ever since the morning refusing to leave her mind but was only getting worse by the second. "It's not planned. The last time I saw Fang was when I picked you up from her place."

"Mom? Are you ever getting back together?" Lightning lifted her head up to lock her eyes with her daughter's, her eyebrow arching in surprise and confusion for such a question since Fang and her had divorced more than two years ago. She kept the eye-contact a few more seconds before sighing loudly with a shake of the head, not needing any words to express her resentment towards the woman she had once loved. "Okay."

The pink-haired woman tried her best to smile but simply turned around to grab her bag from the counter, avoiding the long eye-contact her older daughter had been throwing at her for the past seconds without even blinking and sighed heavily as she turned back around, quickly casting a look at the clock above the TV. "2 minutes girls." She observed the two bobs of the head as the girls were standing up from the chairs to go back inside their respective bedrooms to grab their own bags, Lightning's eyes narrowing at the sight of small heels Rhea was wearing and shook her head in despair.

She shrugged in defeat, thinking that at the age of seventeen, she was probably the same with her own parents and grabbed the setoff keys from the table in order to already go inside the car to start the engine on. She opened the front door, surprised by the cool wind brushing the tip of her nose before starting to make her way towards the black SUV parked in front of the house, her thumb already pressing on the keys to unlock the doors. As she sat down behind the wheel, Lightning began to think. To think about how things had actually gone south like this with her ex-wife, ex-wife she had loved and which whom she had shared so many years of her life. _We stayed together twenty fucking years._

She brought both her hands to cover up her face, her head slightly shaking from left to right in defeat before sharply focusing her attention on the two girls coming her way with frown on their faces, this facial expression only showing Lightning that her two daughters had argued _again_ for stupid things but wasn't going to interfere this time, simply waiting for both of them to enter the car so she could finally take them to high-school. "When are you going off from work Mom?"

"Uh…my last appointment is at 5PM, so around 6. When are you getting out of school?" Lightning asked as she drove of the driveway to reach the road, listening to Rhea telling her was going off at 3 whilst Elia was over at 4:30PM. "Okay. Rhea, you can use your free time by, I don't know, let's say going to the driving school don't you think?" the woman quickly casted a look to her right, observing the pout on her daughter's face at the mention of driving school before looking in the rear-view mirror, Elia hiding her proud smile as her sister was being pestered about it again and didn't hesitate to tackle her too. "And Elia, I believe your mother and I registered you to a homework aid, why don't you do there for an hour?"

The reaction was extremely rapid as Elia face began to be distorted by annoyance, her eyes quickly shifting to look by the window with a straight mouth. _You really think I had nothing for you huh?_ Lightning smirked, proud of the reaction she had caused in both her daughters before turning the radio on, a sigh quickly leaving her mouth at the sound of Fang's voice presenting the morning music broadcast but kept the channel on, knowing precisely that both Elia and Rhea loved that show more than anything else on the radio. "Alright! This was Muse for those who didn't recognize because there are still livin' in caves! Ha! Jokes aside, don't forget to call, and maybe ya will be the winner of the awesome BMW! Let's continue now with the Fall out Boys, I don't care."

Lightning shook her head in despair, quickly pressing on the pedal to reach the high school so she wouldn't have to listen to her voice a single more second, her eyes scrutinizing her horizons carefully to find a parking space somewhere near the school while the two girls were both bouncing their heads and singing loudly in the car. She couldn't help but to smile, glad to see that they still had the same bond that they always used to have when they were younger before stopping the car all together. "Okay, Rhea, driving school, Elia, homework aid. Try to pay attention in class this time Rhea, if I receive another call from your principal you will wish to be dead."

"Yep! See you mom, have a nice day!" – "Bye mom!" Lightning smiled and waved at the two girls before starting the engine again, carefully leaving the parking space in order to reach her office in the center of the city of Angels. She slowly positioned herself on the left line in order to take a turn, not realizing that Fang's broadcast was actually still on. She figured it out the moment she heard a big and loud "Ha!" reaching her ears, her attention quickly focusing on the radio to turn the buttons in order to find anything else to listen to but simply turned the radio completely off in defeat.

After a few more minutes of driving in a complete silence, Lightning had finally parked in front of the office and was stumbling out of the car with her purse in her hands, her glasses quickly landing on the tip of her nose with a small smile. She grabbed the keys back and opened the front door carefully as she entered the building, automatically making her way towards the reception to greet her secretary before disappearing inside the big office on the right, her purse landing on the chair instead of her but so she could check if everything was in order, looking at the chair and her instruments before looking at the clock on the wall. _8:40AM. Okay, I still have twenty minutes._

Lightning nodded inwardly to herself as she grabbed the purse to place it back on the ground and sat down painfully in front of her computer, her fingers already typing on the screen to play music inside the waiting room and slightly closed her eyes, ready to spend the day taking care of women in her OB-GYN office.

* * *

She was sitting in the classroom with her pen in her mouth, listening to a boring speech on how the French handle the WWII, nothing that she really cared about since as she had always told, it was the past. Why care about the past if there's nothing you can even do about it anymore right? Rhea sneered at her own thought, her gaze quickly getting lost as she was actually thinking about more important things. More important like the fact that her mothers were on a war ground for the past two years, ever since the divorce had been settled and needed, with the help of her sister, Serah and Vanille, figure out a way to get them back together. _tough luck I think._

"Miss Farron. Care to tell me the date of the landings?" Rhea lifted her head up from the table, her pen falling from her mouth to land on her desk and smiled in embarrassment, trying to figure out what question had actually been asked. "The date? Landings?"

"Oh, uh the 6th of June 1944" the girl responded with a grin on her lips, lucky to have talked about this with her mother the previous night and impressed by herself for actually having remembered something so boring. She looked at her teacher with a slightly arched brow before he finally decided to turn his attention on something else, her train of thoughts starting again inside her own brain to figure out the perfect plan. _How could we? It's always the same, when I tell Mum about Mom, her face gets all tensed up, and the same happens with Mom. They don't even think about us!_

Rhea frowned severely and began to steeple her fingers, a plan already starting inside her brain to try and make their mothers reunite, her hand quickly grabbing the phone inside her pencil case and selected the name _Annoying sis'. "Elia, we need to make mom and Mum talk, or get back together. Meet me at 12PM for lunch! XOXO"_ She hid the phone back as her teacher casted a glance in her direction, the girl only smiling at his sight as she was feeling particularly proud of herself for the plan she had begun to think about. "Miss Farron, end of the WWII?"

"Uh, where?" she asked with an arched brow.

"In France and then Asia." – "Oh. 8th may 1945 in Europe and 2nd of September 1945 in Japan." The girl sneered as her teacher nodded extremely slowly and simply placed her pen back in her mouth to suffer through the next remaining hour until she could see her sister to scheme their plot.

At 12PM, Rhea was waiting in front of the high-school with a cigarette in her hand gently going towards her lips every so often while Elia was coming her way with a shake of the head at her sister's sight. "You know that you will be killed if they find out? Well especially Mom."

"Then they'll never know! Let's go, let's go!" the two sister's quickly made their way towards the other side of the street, Rhea crashing her cigarette on the ground in order to step inside of it with a grin on her lips as she spotted the two other people she had asked to come to meet them both under the pretext that Elia had had intercourse with her imaginary boyfriend. She tapped Serah's shoulder to make her turn around, the pinky frowning at both their sight as they sat down in front of them both. "Hey Serah, Van!"

"Rhea, you smoked. And Elia, what the hell?" the younger brunette sister raised an eyebrow in confusion at the looks she was receiving from both her aunts while Rhea was hiding her smile under her hand, the connection quickly being made inside her mind. "You had…sex?"

"What?! No! Rhea you suck!" the older sister laughed loudly in the entire Restaurant while Serah, Elia and Vanille were throwing concerned looks in her direction before she face the two women back again with an intense look.

"Okay, sorry it was just to make you come here; I thought it would be efficient." –"Well it was. Now tell us what's going on Rhea, and never again." Rhea nodded quickly; grabbing the menus the waiter was giving her without giving him a single look and looked deep inside Serah and Vanille's eyes.

"Okay. I want my mom's to be back together. It's so annoying, they never speak, when I talk about one to the other they get all angry and everything, but I know they still have feelings for each other! And I want them together, not like this…" Rhea had always been a good actress, competence that had gotten her out of many difficult situations with both her mother's as a child, and had continued practicing in her teenager's years, just for fun. But this time, the few tears reaching her eyes weren't fake ones, as her family situation was slowly destroying her from the inside.

"Rhea, listen to me…" Serah started with a broken smile as she observed the blond-haired girl hiding her face with both her hands, too ashamed of actually crying in front of everyone like a baby. "I know it's hard for you, I can't even imagine how you must feel. But I think that your mom's aren't on the same page anymore…" she continued while Vanille was nodding in pain under Elia gaze, watching the pain inside those green eyes. "They got a divorce because they weren't getting along anymore, and it's not something that can be fixed so quickly."

"Quickly? It's been two years!" Rhea said with a tone filled with disdain and anger, quickly calming back down at the sight of Serah and Vanille's gazes. "I just—it's too much! They're stupid! Both of them!"

"Rhea…" – "I want them to be together! They were always laughing and making fun of each other…they were…" she added, clicking her fingers together to find the perfect word to describe the relationship Fang and Lightning once had. "Complimentary! Right?" she said while casting a glance in her sister's direction.

"It's true. But they're not anymore…" The blondie slightly opened her mouth as she looked at her sister ducking her head in pain, unable to understand when her younger sister had given up hope of seeing their mother's together once more and couldn't possibly understand why she had ever thought that in the first place. "They're not anymore Rhea, you've seen them when one is picking us up. It's barely a hello, barely an eye-contact. They…they hate each other."

"No, that's not true Elia" said Vanille, speaking up for the first time in the conversation with a small smile. "They don't hate each other at all. I think that the little something they had when they both met slowly faded away, that's all…" Rhea shook her head in disappointment. She had thought her aunts would've been in favor to try and get them together at least once, the fact that her own sister seemed to think it was doomed to failure annoying the most. _Why aren't you backing me up!_

"Listen Rhea, the only thing I can do to help is to organize a dinner for Thanksgiving. I actually wanted to do it since I haven't seen Fang nor Lightning in a little while now. So I'm going to text them both to invite them. But I'm not promising anything, they usually avoid each other." Rhea nodded with the faint hope that her mom's would both agree to the dinner, her gaze fixing itself upon her aunt to make her type the message right away, her grin growing wider and wide as the seconds were passing by. "Not now! Tonight."

"Okay! Let's eat now I'm starving! Stupid History drained my brain." – "So you do have one!" Elia sneered loudly as she spoke up, but didn't expect the incoming slap in the back of her head and frowned heavily as she looked at her sister, Rhea now being the only one smiling from ear to ear.

"This is because you're mean to me; I'll let you know I received a B+ in Literature." Serah opened wide eyes and lifted her head up from the menu to smile at her niece, glad to see Lightning's tough education had the effect of making Rhea actually work for her tests before she dug her face back inside the menu to select her own meal, a small and pinched smile reaching her lips at the idea of her sister and Fang being in the same room for more than fifteen minutes, already thinking about the broken glasses and plates that might occur during the night.

* * *

Fang was sitting on her sofa with a proud smile on her lips, the pen she had in her hand moving on the white paper to create a drawing of a bird she had always found magnificent. Indeed, if there's something Fang loved to do, was to create her own tattoos to give them to Lebreau so she could then draw them on her skin for all eternity, precision being highly noticed in her movements as every feather was perfectly made, every emotion represented and every movement shown.

She had done the exact same thing with two other of her tattoos, one on her other biceps representing a dear in cubic form and another one at the end of her nape, a guitar formed with keys of G's and F's. It was always taking her time, but the result was always everything she had hoped for. If she actually had to think about, she would've loved to become a tattoo artist to be able to draw every single minute of every single day of the year, but since Lebreau had already had an office when they first met, she had decided not to steal her thunder, thing that, in her mind, could've happened otherwise.

She was so deeply focused inside her drawing that nothing would actually get her out of her thoughts. Well one thing actually could since her phone buzzing in her pocket was taking her away from her artistic creation, a frown quickly reaching her eyebrows as she grabbed the object to look at the text she had received. _"Fang it's Serah! Say, I'm organizing Thxgiving on Saturday, so in three days. I would love it if you could come; I haven't seen you in a while. I hope you're okay! Xoxo."_

As much as she hated it, Fang winced. She winced because she knew that Lightning would obviously be there for her sister in order to help her with dinner since it had always seemed to be a tradition in the Farron family, and didn't know if _she_ would actually be welcomed there. But she also knew that her two daughters would obviously be there, and since seeing them only every two weeks was annoying her, she knew she needed to be there.

Slowly, Fang nibbled on her lip with both her thumbs standing above the screen to try and find the right words but simply typed her acknowledgment. _"Hey Serah, would love too. Do you need me to bring anything?"._ She then waited a few more seconds before she could go back inside her drawing, waiting for the phone to buzz again on the glass table she had bought the previous week with her daughters and looked at the object buzzing after a few seconds, a small smile reaching her lips at her ex-sister's-in-law's text.

" _No, you is just perfect. I'll see you on Saturday then 7PM."_ After placing the phone a little further away, Fang grabbed her pen back in her hand but remained perfectly still above the paper, her eyes narrowing slowly to stare at the ground in a feeling of absolute defeat, the picture of Lightning rushing back inside her mind like a thunderstorm ready to crash her on the ground and quickly lifted her head up to look at the paper as a dropping sound reached her ears.

She frowned heavily at the sight of a small blood stain on the paper, her hand quickly landing on her lip to be placed back in front of her eyes, watching her two fingers slightly reddish, her lip being obviously opened due to the amount of stress she was feeling inside her every bone. "Shit" she said as she stood up from the sofa to reach the bathroom a little further away to look at her own reflection. She shook her head in contempt as she turned the water on, both her hands quickly going on her face to wash it and began to suck on the lip to stop the blood flood. "What am I goin' to do now?"

Fang sighed. She sighed loudly and heavily as if it might take all the pain she was feeling away from her body but simply went back inside the living with a sluggish paste, shifting her direction to reach the kitchen in order to take a glass of white wine, the bottle almost emptying itself as the glass was almost completely filled with the yellowish liquid and simply placed it on her lips with her eyes deeply closed. "Saturday…" she whispered as she placed the glass back on the counter of her kitchen. "Saturday is goin' to be a very, very long day…"

With her arms crossed on her shoulder, Fang slowly unfolded them to grab the glass back and slowly made her way towards the sofa to sit down carefully, her eyes fixing themselves upon the Golden-naped Tanager, grabbing her pencils back to finish her aquarelle drawing from the table with a faint smile.


	2. We need backup!

If there was something she had always loved on a scale from one to ten, she knew it would always be the Saturday's for the only reason that she knew that staying in bed wasn't going to pose any kind of troubles since her Mom was leaving for work at 8AM to come back at 4PM. And right now, a little time for herself alone with her sister was actually everything she needed. _Need to plan, to plan!_

Rhea grinned under her blanket, her toes slowly moving to regain her motor functions after a long night of peaceful sleep, quickly shoving the sheets away to stand up from the bed in order to grab her fresh cup of coffee. What she also liked on Saturday's was that Elia was usually still asleep until 10:30AM, meaning she had the entire living room for herself where she could dance and more importantly call her best-friend Charlotte.

She discreetly made her way towards the kitchen, trying not to make a single sound before grabbing a dose of nespresso on her way to quickly place it inside the coffee maker. She got on her tip-toe to grab a mug, cursing between her teeth for being only 5'5 and winced as the mug slipped under her fingertips.

Suddenly, she felt like the scene was happening in slow motion. It was exactly like in the movie 'The Matrix' when Neo was avoiding the bullet Mister Smith was shooting at him. She felt her eyes opening wide while the mug was crashing towards the ground. She was trying to move faster than it, her hand slowly reaching the ground as she was squatting before she only closed her eyes at the loud crashing sound, millions of pieces flying in every direction while her heart was suddenly stopping. _Dammit!_

She opened one faint eye, watching the destruction she had created because of her short height while Elia was stumbling inside the living room with a smirk on her lips as the sight of her older sister looking so defeated before narrowing her eyes to look at the pieces of blue porcelain spread out on the ground. "Well! Mom is going to be so thrilled when she sees this."

"You can't tell her! I'll just buy the same!" – "How are you planning on doing that Rhea?" the blondie began to shake her head in every direction, her right hand quickly landing on her forehead so she could think more deeply about any kind of solution while Elia was grabbing the broom from the closet, quickly handing it to the girl now feeling restless for having broken one of her mother's favorite mugs. "Call Mum, maybe she can help."

Without even taking a breath, Rhea was rushing back inside her bedroom, carefully avoiding every pieces of the mug she could detect and crashed on her bed with her arm bend to reach the phone on the nightstand, her mother number quickly being dialed before going back towards the kitchen with a fast beating heart. _"Rhea, what's up?"_

"Mum! This is intervention 101, I destroyed one of mom's blue mugs, you know the one she loves?" – " _Oh,oh,oh, this is good."_ Rhea frowned, heavily sitting down on a stool in front of the counter while nibbled on her lip in terror. _"And what do ya need from me?"_

"Can you please, please take me to the store so I can buy a new one? I'm going to be executed if she realizes one is missing!" She listened to the small laugh coming from the other line while Elia was coming next to her, the two sister's exchanging a confused look while Rhea was putting the phone on speaker so everyone could hear, quickly casting a look over her shoulder to stare at the pieces all brought together in a corner of the room. "Mum, please!"

" _Fine, fine! I'll be there in twenty minutes yeah?"_ – "Thank you sooo much! You are my life saver!" – _"Trust me, I know!"_ As the phone hung up, Rhea jumped from the stool to grab the shorthanded brush from the closet and began to put all the pieces inside it before throwing them out in the dumpster with a proud smile on her face. She then looked up to stare at the mugs and shrugged in defeat as she took a glass to pour her coffee inside of it, time running fast until her mother would finally come and pick her up to do some shopping in order to find that dammed mug her other mother loved so much. "I'm guessing you're coming with us Eli?"

"Yep, I want to see your face if you can't find the same one." Rhea gritted her teeth together at the sight of her younger sister looking so proud of herself, but didn't bother in fighting since she still needed to shower, dress up and make-up, the sight off all these tasks being done so quickly slightly overwhelming her as she felt her breath getting faster and heavier with the amazing amount of stress she was currently under. "I'm kidding Rhea, relax! It's just a mug!"

"No! No it's not just a mug! Do you remember when I broke the ashtray? It was the worst five minutes of my life! Mom had this vein popping from her neck when she's supper angry and her eyes were like two black balls! And her eyes are blue!" Elia drew her lip between her teeth to prevent the burst of laughter from leaving her throat while her older sister was gesturing in every direction, counting the tale she had actually seen with her own very two eyes when Rhea had broken the object and could even still remember her mother's glare in her direction when she had spotted her spying on the argument. "I have to buy a new one! Stop putting pressure on me! Ah!"

Rhea placed both her hands above her mouth to take deep and heavy breath, quickly focusing her attention on the coffee maker that had finished pouring her beverage and grabbed the glass carefully, winces distorting her face at the extremely hot sensation and actually had the feeling that her fingerprints wouldn't be of any use after this. She looked at her fingers the second the glass landed on the table and shook her hand vigorously as she sat down on the chair, watching the minutes passing by on the clock relatively quickly. _I only have 14 minutes left! I need to shower now! That stupid coffee will get colder during that time!_

The blondie girl jumped from her chair at incredible speed under Elia's confused gaze, distinctly listening to the door slamming and the water being turned on inside the shower quickly followed by a gasp of surprise as she was absolutely certain Rhea had placed herself under the cold water. She listened more closely to the swear words and curses along with the fast movements her sister was taking to shampoo her hair while she was casually sitting on the chair with her glass of milk in her hand, thinking that she could wait after the shopping to actually take a shower while taking her sweet time, thing that obviously didn't cross Rhea's mind.

After a few more minutes, Elia was finishing dressing up in her bedroom as the doorbell rang through the entire house, quickly rushing towards the front door while Rhea was repeating over and over again the single word 'wait'. The younger sister opened the door to reveal her Mum carrying a huge and amused smile, quickly rushing inside her arms to greet her here. "Hey! Rhea should be ready in a few seconds."

"It's your sister, so a few seconds is more like a few minutes." Elia chuckled and went back inside the house while Fang was closing the door behind her, looking at the house she once lived in for more than 17 years, noticing that the pictures on the walls were still here but couldn't possibly find one where she was in. All of them were representing Lightning with Elia and Rhea on both her sides with a huge grin, grin she hadn't seen in the two years they had been apart. "So, how's everythin' goin'?"

"Good! I have a paper to finish for next Wednesday but I'm almost done with it." the tanned and tall brunette nodded in her daughter direction while scrutinizing her every surrounding to try and find something, anything that might remind Lightning about her but couldn't possibly see anything. All the things she had received as a gift had disappeared from the surface of the Earth and couldn't help but to feel a heart ache crashing inside her chest as she grabbed the glass of water Elia was handing her while Rhea was storming back and forth from her bedroom to the bathroom. "Mum? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine" she lied before bringing the glass closer to her lips as saliva was starting to lack inside her own mouth, Elia arching a brow at her odd behavior. "So, only one mug was broken that right?"

"Yes!" said Rhea as she barged inside the living room, quickly placing a kiss on her mother's cheek before already being at the door with her purse around her arm and a frown on her face. Fang looked at the blondie with a quick shake of the head, surprised on how Rhea was actually looking like her mother, her facial expression being the perfect representation of her state of inner panic. "Let's go please Mom! It's already 10AM and she's coming back in 6 hours!"

"And ya don't think that an hour will be enough?" – "An hour? What if we can't find it in one store? We have to go inside every store of the city to find it!" Fang slightly opened her mouth while scratching her forehead before she slowly dragged herself out of the house with a pinched lip, listening to Elia's mocking towards her older sister for having two left hands instead of only one while Rhea was shaking her hands in every direction to express her resentment towards her sister for being such a _stupid prick_. She knew she had to say something, but if there was one thing she enjoyed the most, it was to watch her two impossible daughters fighting for any possible reasons until the storm would finally clear itself on its own. _Yeah, those two are really one of the best things that happened to me. And I'm goin' to make sure I don't lose them like I lost her._

They had been inside the store for five minutes, and Rhea was already walking like her ass was literally on fire, barking every now and then to her sister for being so slow while Fang was casually calking behind them with her arms folded across her chest, looking left and right for the famous mug the girl had broken. She had known that Lightning indeed loved those mugs more than anything in the world, but the reason behind it was something Fang had always held inside her heart like a sweet and innocent memory.

The only reason why those mugs were so important in the pinky's life was because she had bought them seventeen years ago, when she was pregnant with Rhea. She had seen the mugs standing behind a window and like every pregnant woman; her emotions were twisting with her mind to turn her into a super angry and emotional Lightning.

" _Fang, do you see these mugs?" The woman turned around and looked at her wife's finger pointing towards the blueish and frankly ugly mugs with an arched brow before focusing her attention on the pregnant woman with an amused smile on her lips. "They're cool. They're so pretty, it's like the sky."_

" _And what do ya need Light?" – " I need them. I want them." Fang nodded slowly and began to make her way towards the store, but felt a hand quickly grabbing her wrist to be turned around, her confused gaze fixing itself upon the pinky. "What are you doing?"_

" _Ya said ya wanted the mugs, so I'm getting' the mugs?" The facial expression Lightning was making was indicating Fang that the girl was soon about to be either extremely angry or extremely sad for a reason she couldn't quite pinpoint and slowly swallowed the saliva that had been starting to gather around under her tongue. "What? Ya don't want the mugs?"_

" _I want the mugs." – "Then why can't I get the mugs?" – "Stop saying mugs!" – "Ya first!" they both exchanged a long eye-contact in front of the store, both being unable to understand what was actually occurring at this very moment while people were casually walking behind them. Lightning frowned and placed a hand on her big 6 month's belly while a smile was reaching her lips relatively quickly before locking eyes with her perfect wife. "So? The mugs?"_

" _Do you want the mugs?" Fang arched her brow even more, her mouth slightly opening in complete incomprehension under the conversation she was beginning to lose track of while Lightning was scratching her forehead with confusion, casting a quick glance towards the mugs invading her mind. "I want the mugs. Can you get me the mugs?"_

" _I'll get the mugs." – "No! I'm coming with you, you're going to pick the wrong mugs." The tanned woman chuckled and grabbed her wife's hand to lead her inside the store slowly, listening to small grunts as the baby inside her belly was probably kicking her like a football player and stopped in front of a box of six mugs to grab them carefully. Lightning placed a small hand on top of them and felt her eyes filling with tears as the baby was still kicking her like crazy, the pinky quickly nodding in pleasure as she looked at her wife's green eyes. "She likes the mugs too."_

" _Sh—She?" – "She."_

"Mum! I can't find them! This is a nightmare!" Fang shook her head to push the memory away and casted a glance towards her daughter gesturing in every direction in order to catch her attention however she could. "What am I going to do?!"

"Calm down Rhea, we're goin' to find a solution to this problem." The blondie lifted her head up to glance at the ceiling in order to keep the tears from leaving her eyes before taking a long and deep breath as she looked back at her mother with a broken smile. "Okay, we need to go downtown, that's where we bought 'em but I don't think the store still exists."

"It has too! I have to buy this stupid mug back! What's so important in them anyway?" Fang winced, unsure if she needed to know that these mugs had been chosen because Rhea herself had kicked her mother's belly as she touched them and that it had been the day she found it was going to be a girl. "Mum? You know why I'm sure, tell me!"

"No, ya are goin' to make me drive in different cities if I do that." Rhea frowned as she began to follow her mother out of the store, quickly glancing at Elia with an arched brow before stumbling out of the store, the overwhelming heat quickly grabbing the three girls by the gut. "Let's go."

"Mum! Please tell me!" – "Fine! We bought the mugs with Lightnin' when she was pregnant with ya, it was the day she told me she was pregnant with a girl." She had known. She knew that Rhea would take this information to seriously as her entire face began to decompose itself in surprise quickly followed by pain and anguish. She placed her fingernails in her mouth and began to bite them ferociously while Elia was trying to make her stop. "That's why she loves those mugs. I'm actually surprised she kept 'em. I have three and she has three…well two now. If we can't find one, I'll give ya one of mine yeah?"

"No, I can't let you do that Mum, I'll suffer the consequences." Fang shook her head in amusement as she stepped inside her vehicle, the two girls quickly jumping behind as the car was already on and back on the street a few seconds later. "We'll give the store one last shot and then I'll try and find one on-line if it's gone."

"Okay honey" their mother said as she turned to the right, Rhea carefully looking at her surroundings with a small smile before she lifted her head up to look at her mother with a broken smile at the mention of those damned mugs apparently being the only thing still clinging both her mother's together. _I need to find one. I will never forgive myself if I don't._ "How's Charlotte by the way? Ya got into an argument?"

"Uh? Oh no, no! She's fine, I'm supposed to see her tomorrow so we can work on our oral presentation actually, I already told Mom about it." – "What's it 'bout?" Fang opened her ears wide as her daughter was casually explaining her they were supposed to pick up a diseases in groups of two and work on it, explaining what it is, what it implies etc, and that the diseases they had chosen was on Sjogren's syndrome. "Meanin'?"

"Uh, it's when you have dry eyes and dry mouth, to sum up" Rhea said as she looked by the window again to avoid the subject like the plague, discussing about her homework with her mother's not being something she had ever enjoyed. "Anyway! Are you still coming to Aunt Serah's tonight?"

"Yep, should be there around 7PM, like I was asked. What 'bout ya?" – "Mom wants us to be there after her work, so around 4:30PM. We'll see Daniel like that!" Fang smiled, wondering how the little 7 year old boy was actually doing since her communication with Serah had been hitting the rocks ever since the divorce had been granted and couldn't wait to see them all again. She sharply focused her attention on the right as she spotted the store that hadn't moved for more than fifteen years and quickly parked in front of it while Rhea and Elia were already jumping out from the car to rush towards the window, the older sister clapping her hands together in a wave of happiness while Fang could only smile, smile brighter than she had provided for the past months and could almost picture herself with Lightning years ago, standing in front of this very window deeply in love and deeply pregnant as the most happiest couple in the world.

######

"Rhea, you smell funny." Lightning said as she sniffed her daughter with an arched brow, looking at the girl decomposing herself in front of her face in the blink of an eye and quickly clenched her jaw as she could recognize this particular smell. "You smoked!"

"Hey guys!" the pink-haired girl sharply turned around to throw a smile in her sister's direction and slowly entered the house to receive her nephew in her arms, the little boy looking absolutely thrilled to see his Auntie again after so long. "What took you so long?"

"Rhea needed to find her phone and her battery, so it took long, long minutes of waiting. And Rhea, we will need to chat." The pinky said with a finger pointing in her daughter's direction before turning back around to reach the kitchen with Daniel, Serah's son still in her arms. She placed him back down after a few seconds as the boy was starting to weight a lot more than the last time she had actually seen him before going towards Snow to shake his hand. "Snow."

"Hey sis, what's up?" – "Snow, don't call me sis, I wouldn't want to kick your butt in front of my daughters _and_ your son." Snow, Serah's tall and muscular husband nodded quickly in her sister in law's direction before making his way towards the two girls to give them quick kisses on their cheeks, Lightning observing the scene with an amused smile. She sighed loudly and stretched her arms, the day of work she had spent having the effect to tire her up more than she cared to admit and simply went back inside the kitchen to look at the food already ready to be prepared. "So Serah, what's the menu instead of the obvious huge turkey standing in front of me?"

"Well, I was thinking of mashed potatoes and beans, the usual! It wouldn't be a Thanksgiving without it." Lightning nodded slowly as she was bringing her sleeves up so she wouldn't trash her outfit and casually grabbed the apron her sister was handing her to place it around her waist. She grabbed the spatula and raised it in the air, her gaze quickly fixing itself upon her older daughter grinning in her direction but could only screw up her eyes in slight annoyance at the idea of Rhea smoking while her back was turned. _Oh Rhea, you're lucky Fang is here tonight or I would already have your head._ "How was your day Light?"

"Oh you know, the usual. I saw Caroline actually, she's due very soon! It's exciting." Serah opened wide eyes of surprise and grinned in front of her sister, glad to hear the her sister's friends pregnancy had gone magnificently before focusing her attention on the piano, listening to Rhea and Elia performing their quartet with elegance. "Rhea smokes apparently. I smelt her from afar, I wonder how long this has been going on."

"Come on Light, you started when you were sixteen." – "Yes, and mom had yelled at me for that." – "Did it keep you from doing it though?" Lightning gawked in front of her sister, sister who casually placed a hand under her chin to close her mouth back with a wink before she began to stuff the turkey in order for it to cook for the four hours needed while Lightning was only grabbing her glass of red wine from the counter to place it to her lips. "You know that…Fang is coming tonight, right?"

"Yes, the girls told me about it two days ago. It's fine, we don't have to…avoid each other." – "You're awfully open about it Light." – "Yeah. Don't tell the girls but I had a date last week." Serah froze. She froze so roughly that the knife she had in her hand fell on the ground miserably, pieces of turkey spreading on the ground like glass while Lightning was arching a brow. "What? What is it?"

"You're—you had a date? With who Lightning?" Serah said in a whisper while casting a glance around her to make sure no prying ears where near them before watching Lightning picking up the fallen knife to place it back on the counter.

"A friend's patient of mine. It's nothing serious Serah it was just one date, nothing more." – "What about…Fang?" – "What about her?" Lightning didn't understand anything anymore. The last time she had seen her sister, Serah had urged her to go out and live her life like she was supposed to instead of mopping around, trying to hold onto the illusion that maybe someday, she and Fang might be together again. And now, the girl had seemed to have completely forgotten about her words and seemed more shocked than happy for her older sister. "Serah? What about Fang?"

"Hey Mom? Can we take Dan outside, on the swing?" – "Are you going to smoke?" Lightning arched a brow as her daughter began to turn crimson red and simply shook her head in slight amusement. "Go ahead, be careful and keep a good eye on him." Rhea nodded quickly before disappearing as fast as she came inside the room, leaving the two pinky face to face with blank expressions on both their faces. "Serah what is it?"

"Are you going to tell the girls?" – "No, it's too soon. We only had one coffee, nothing happened." – "Is there going to be another one?" – "Yes, Serah" she responded abruptly to finally end the conversation since she suddenly had the feeling she was committed some atrocious crime and that her sister was leading the investigation to try and find out who this mystery person was.

"Alright then. Can you give me the pepper?" with a sharp gesture, Lightning handed the requested object to her sister before finishing the peeling of her potatoes with a frown on her face.

#####

Lightning was waiting. She had the feeling that her heart was about to literally implode inside her chest as she looked at the clock to see it was nearly 7PM, meaning that Fang was soon going to come inside the house. She didn't know why she was feeling so tensed up since it was just a dinner. They didn't need to speak or look at each other, the only thing they really needed to do was try and not to argue in front of their friends and family since Serah had apparently forgotten to mention that Lebreau, Yuj, Gadot and Maqui were also joining the party.

She excused herself after a few more seconds in order to go to the restroom, the door quickly closing behind her to stare at her own reflection with a pinched nose. She was looking so tired, she couldn't even believe her eyes. Sure she wasn't as young as she was once, her 38 years of life having been intense, but as she was looking at the small wrinkles around her eyes, she only wanted to smash her fist inside the mirror. _When did I get so old_ she asked herself with a sigh as she washed her hands.

After grabbing the towel that she neatly placed back on its hanger, Lightning slowly made her way out of the room to reach the living room back and felt her heart skipping a beat at the sound of Fang's voice. She was here, and now she couldn't go back in time to leave. All she could now was to be polite for the sake of her two daughters. So as her high heels indicated her arrival, the pink-haired girl lifted her head up from the ground and provided a faint smile in her ex-wife's direction while the entire room was falling silent. _Someone talk, please_ she inwardly begged as she stopped in front of the tall brunette, their eyes meeting to exchange a deep but quick eye-contact.

"Hey Light!" she suddenly heard from behind, grinning at the sight of Lebreau going towards her with a huge smile on her face, the two girls exchanging a quick hug to greet each other. "Well, you're looking good. Why am I not surprised?"

"Ha. Thanks Lebreau, glad to see you haven't changed." – "Why change the best, right?" Lightning shook her head in amusement as her hand was being grabbed to turn back around, all the grown-ups of the room forming a circle while Fang was trying her best not to look in the pinky's direction, blinking at few times to get her mind back straight. "Serah, where's the liquor in this place? Oh right, this isn't Light's place…"

"Hey, I only have one bottle home." – "It's true, I saw it this morning!" Rhea said as she positioned herself next to Fang with a grin that quickly vanished at the uncomfortable sight of both her mothers. "Mom, is it still okay if Char' comes by tomorrow?"

"Sure sweetie." Lightning said with a faint smile before turning back around to flee the living room in order to grab her glass back from the kitchen, a sigh of despair leaving her mouth the second the door closed back behind her. _Well, at least we didn't yell at each other, for now…_ She quickly turned around as the door opened behind her to reveal her sister carrying a broken smile on her lips, softly rubbing her shoulder as she walked pass by her to grab the bottles from the fridge. "Need any help Serah?"

"Sure, you can take these two bottles of Champagne and I'll bring the appetizers, sound good?" – "Yep." Lightning smiled as she stepped outside the kitchen with a bottle in each hand, both of them quickly landing on the small coffee table in front of the TV where different chairs had been brought closer for everyone so sit down properly and slowly began to take the cap of the bottle before pouring the amazing amount of glasses placed on the table. She looked up to her older daughter, watching her eyes sparkling in pleasure and pleading. "Do you want some Rhea?"

"Can I? Please, please!" – "Fang?" the brunette sharply turned around to look at her ex-wife. She gawked for a few seconds, unable to know if Lightning had actually spoken to her or if her imagination had played with her mind but as she saw the insistent look on her face, she quickly understood that Lightning was indeed waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, give her just a little bit. We wouldn't want her to throw up her food." – "I won't throw up my food!" Lightning chuckled as she poured the half of the last glass placed on the table while everyone was slowly coming her way, Serah grinning at the sight of the glasses already filled as she placed the appetizers on the table and clapped her hands together to make everyone sit down on the different chairs.

"Okay, well everyone, happy Thanksgiving!" All the glasses rose in the air to click together, people being actually unable to figure out with whom they had or they hadn't clicked but quickly forgot about it as all the glasses reached the lips, Lightning observing her daughter with an amused smile as the girl winced at the taste she was –without knowing how it was possible – apparently finding disgusting. "So Fang, did anyone won that damned car or not?"

"Actually no it's crazy, they're never able to say the last singer. We try to make it easy on 'em but well…" Lightning looked at the brunette with a straight mouth, observing her strong jaw and tanned skin with a pinch in her heart before ducking her head to stare at anything else. _Yeah, you got over her…What a joke._

"What about you Light, still enjoying your job?" – "Yes, I do. Like I told Serah earlier, Caroline is soon giving birth." – "Wow! That's awesome!" the pink-haired girl nodded as she locked eyes with Lebreau hazel ones, her lips slowly curving into a smile at the sight of her friend she hadn't seen in a long, long time. "Are you going to be there?" – "For the labor? Yes, I will. She asked me to be there actually."

It was now Fang's turn to duck her head to stare at the ground as she had leered on Lightning's cerulean eyes and had almost drown in them like the first time she had seen those two beautiful pieces of jewelry. But what she immediately noticed was Lightning's hand. Indeed, she could see that their wedding ring was still firmly on her finger and slightly opened her mouth in surprise at its sight, unable to understand why Lightning had kept the ring.

She stopped staring at the fingers as she felt a small punch inside her ribs, quickly casting her look towards her sister, Vanille, with an arched brow but eventually nodded in thankfulness before taking another sip from the precious alcohol, ready to get as drunk as possible in order to forget about the fact that their marriage had been destroyed because of herself.

It was now 11PM. The plates and glasses were empty and the people were slowly leaving the house to go back in their respective houses, Lightning, Rhea, Elia, Fang and Vanille being the only ones staying inside the house to help and clean up.

The pink-haired girls were standing in the kitchen, Lightning passing the plates to her sister while Serah was casually placing them inside the dishwasher while Fang and Vanille were bringing the remaining things inside the kitchen, the ex-couple carefully avoiding any kind of contact as they were passing next to each other. As Lightning finally left the room, Fang couldn't help but to ask the question she had deep down in her throat. "Why is Light keeping the ring?"

Serah lifted her head up from the plates, grabbing the towel on her right to dry her hands before placing them both of her hips. "Because she doesn't want to take it away. I already asked her, this was her answer Fang" she answered with a barely distinguishable smile as the thought of her sister dating someone else was crossing her mind again. "Are you guys okay?"

"We didn't argue, so I'd say that a plus." As a knock on the door resonated, Fang softly turned around to look at the pinky coming inside with her two daughters placing their jackets back on their shoulders.

"We're going to take off. Serah, thanks for the dinner, it was nice. I'll see you soon?" – "Absolutely." Lightning smiled, letting her two daughters going towards Fang to place a kiss on her cheek, clearing her throat in slight discomfort as she locked eyes with the brunette. "Have a good night" was the only thing she added as she began to walk towards the front door rapidly, listening to Rhea sighing in despair behind her. "What is it Rhea?"

"Nothing Mom, nothing." She lied as she casted one last glance in Fang's direction, her eyes filling with tears again as the idea of their mom's getting along was slowly disappearing behind the shadows. "Nothing…"


	3. Kingdom come

**Hey, about the pregnancy that will come later, it will be explained :) Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"She really told you that?" asked the redhead with her eyes wide open, unable to understand how any of this was actually possible. "Like, she really told you she had been on a date?"

"Yes, Van'. I wouldn't make something like _this_ up." Serah replied with a cold tone filled with contempt, contempt mostly going towards her sister for being such an idiot. "I don't know what made her change her…" she stopped talking because she suddenly remembered the chat she had had with Lightning weeks ago, chat where she had almost begged her to move on and to forget about Fang once and for all. "This is all my fault…"

"How can this be your fault Serah?" Vanille arched a brow, smiling at the sight of Yuj coming their way with the two beers they had ordered, glad to have the possibility to take some time off their respective works, boyfriends or husbands and kids for some by chatting over a well-deserved beer after a long first day of the week. "Serah?"

"It was me. I told Lightning to stop thinking about Fang. It was crushing her every time I was mentioning her…And now she moved on." Serah buried her face in her hands, shaking her head from left to right at her own stupidity, blaming herself for this matter in particular since Lightning had seemed so glad to talk about the date she had had with the so-called 'Alex'. "Fuck!"

Vanille flinched roughly, nearly splattering her entire beer on her laps as the glass was near her lips and carefully placed it back on the table to look at her best friend with an arched brow. "It's not your fault Serah. I told Fang to do the same thing. Lightning just acted first." She said while wiping the small droplets from the tip of her nose, looking at the pink-head slowly rising up to lock her blue eyes with her own. "They had to move on eventually Serah… It's been two years now."

"I know." Serah stared at her glass in defeat. She knew Vanille was right, but if she had to be completely honest with herself, she had been holding onto that small hope that Fang and Lightning would both realize how stupid they had acted about their divorce to finally see the best in their couples and not the worst. But now, Lightning was flying away with someone else, someone that she knew could never match Fang. "Don't tell anyone I told you, please. Fang can't know or she'll tell the girls, and Light wants to wait."

"Sure, no problem. How do you think they will react if this leads to something?" she left out a sigh before drinking a huge sip from her beer, gasping in something close to pleasure as the glass left her lips to go back on the table, unable to actually tell how the two girls would indeed react.

"I don't know…I think—I think Elia will be comprehensive. But Rhea? Rhea is going to be extremely pissed. She only wants to see them back together." Vanille nodded slowly and began to stroke her chin, deeply thinking about her older niece's reaction when they would evidently learn about Lightning's affairs and sighed heavily as Serah's hand landed on top of her own. "It might seem childish, but I was kinda hopping Rhea would manage her coup to bring them back together."

"In a way she kinda did. Look, they talked; they even shared a laugh for a few seconds. Sure it was followed by incredibly long seconds of uncomfortable silence, but when was the last time you saw them with that 'complementarity' like Rhea said?" Serah nibbled on her lips and frowned, trying very deep to remember the last time she had seen her sister and Fang sharing a laugh on something completely futile. "See, you can't _even_ remember the last time it was. And frankly, neither can I."

An awkward silence spread between the two girls, silently drinking their pint of beers while thinking about the terrible situation the divorce had first put everyone into before Serah thought more carefully about the last laughter she had seen between the ex-couple, a soft smile curving her lips in a matter of seconds at the picture of such childishness.

 _It had been a Saturday night at the Farron-Yun house. It had been their tradition in order to keep in touch with their respective families to receive them every Saturday night for different bored-games, the theme for tonight being nothing else but charades with the four following teams : Lightning and Fang, Serah and Snow, Rhea and Elia, Vanille and Hope. The different members were all battling to make their partner figure out what they were trying to mime, sometimes causing the laughter of some of the other players._

 _Lightning was currently observing her sister with a huge grin on her lips as Snow was unable to figure what she was actually miming. It was pretty clear in her mind since Serah was currently pretending to fly with her hand and feet, her hand hitting her chest no and then to point at what was supposed to be the middle of Iron Man's armor, and since it was Charade Movie night, the picture Serah was sending was nothing but obvious. "Ya still have fifteen seconds big guy."_

" _Dammit! Uh, I don't now! Bird-man!" Serah gawked and pretended to fly again by putting the same pressure on her hands until the bell rang in the living room, Lightning unable to hide her laughter any longer._

" _It was Iron-Man you doofus!" – "Doofus ha-ha!" Lightning looked at her wife with the same grin and winked in her direction as she stood up from the sofa to grab her own paper with delicacy and quickly glanced at it before starting to bend her muscles in an instant, trying to prove she couldn't control the anger inside her body. 'The Hulk" she heard, quickly placing the paper next to the hat to grab another one. This time, she began to move her finger in rounds, feeling the urge to mouth some of the things she was trying to say before Fang opened her mouth again "Harry Potter."_

 _Lightning raised her thumb, quickly snatching a paper before freezing at the sight of the name she was supposed to mime. She had no idea how she was supposed to do it, especially in front of her two daughters since the content of the movie was basically based on sex and felt her cheeks slightly warming up as she was picturing some of the scenes back inside her mind. "Sunshine?"_

" _I can't possibly mime this." Fang raised a brow, suddenly wanting her wife to actually mime the movie but as she saw her two fingers hiding behind the paper to go inside the hole she was making with her other hand, she couldn't resist anymore. She burst into a laughter that made everyone flinch while Lightning was nervously scratching her forehead, glaring in amusement at her wife for being such a prick. "Fang! It's not funny! I can't do that in front of our daughters!"_

" _That's for sure ha-ha! Let's never do that in front of our daughters." Lightning chewed on her lip in amusement while Fang was holding her stomach from the burst of laughter than wouldn't stop while Rhea and Elia were slowly opening their mouths in incomprehension. "Come on Sunshine! Mime the movie! Ya have twenty seconds left!"_

" _What the hell is this movie" asked Serah with an arched brow, watching Lightning's hand placing the paper in front of her eyes, her own cheeks slightly getting warmer only at the title of the movie, not taking a long time to actually understand what it was about. "Who put this in the hat?"_

 _Fang who couldn't stop laughing suddenly froze as Lightning looked at her with an arched brow. She grinned, proud of her own little joke, and glad her daughters didn't stumbled onto the paper since the title was enough to understand that the movie was nothing else but porn. But as she lifted her head up, she noticed that her wife was taking a position of attack and quickly bounced of the sofa to rush outside the house and into the garden, the pinky quickly following her at an amazing paste._

 _It was only when Rhea, Elia, Snow, Hope, Vanille and Serah heard a loud 'splash' that everyone in the living room rushed into the garden to find the two women laughing hysterically inside the pool, quickly exchanging a deep and passionate kiss while Serah was smiling from ear to ear at the happiness they were showing before everyone focused their attention on Elia. "So, what was the name of the movie then?"_

 _Again, laughter tickled everyone's throat, Lightning and Fang deciding to stay inside the pool for another kiss, both their foreheads placing against one another at the perfect moment they were both spending, glad to be together for all eternity._

"Serah?" Vanille asked while clicking her fingers in front of the pink-haired girl's face and chuckled as she observed her best friend's eyelashes batting in front of her eyes to drag herself out of the memory. "What were you thinking about?"

"The last Charade we had with everyone. With the stupid movie 'Pussy and pussies'. They were so happy back then…I wonder what happened to them exactly." Vanille shook her head since she had never gotten a true answer about this, even if she had asked Fang numerous times about this particular point. "Lightning never told me. She kept it as a deep secret. I hope it wasn't something stupid like cheating…"

"No, I'm sure it's not. But Rhea once said they couldn't stop fighting about everything… I don't know." – "Yeah…I guess we'll never know." The two girls sighed simultaneously before grabbing their beers back from the table and began an entire new conversation to keep both their minds of their two sisters.

* * *

"I can't believe you actually tried!" Rhea looked at her best friend with a slight arched brow and shrugged in defeat as she sat down against the wall to place her back against the head of the bed, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion before casting a glance towards Charlotte's direction. She looked at her with a smile, a smile she could never keep hidden in front of her and looked at her beautiful green eyes with amazement, her short brown hair shining with the light hanging above both their heads. "What happened exactly?"

"Nothing much" Rhea said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "They talked a bit, I tried to push my Mom, so Lightning towards Fang but they couldn't keep a conversation more than one fucking minute…" She stopped as she felt a hand grabbing her own to gently squeeze it, looking dead straight inside Charlotte's green emeralds with a faint smile before feeling her head going on her shoulder. "Anyway…"

"When I saw your Mom yesterday she seemed to be alright… And when I arrived, Fang seemed fine too. Are you sure they're really miserable Rhea?" the blondie shrugged. Now that she was thinking about it, her Mum looked actually more sad than her other mother but couldn't quite pinpoint why. Did she get over her, was that the reason why everything reminding her of Fang was gone, except for the blue mugs? But then, why was she keeping that stupid ring on? "Hey Rhea, it's okay."

"Nothing is okay… You remember, when they were together? They were always laughing! It's just driving me fucking insane!" – "Rhea, watch your words please?" the blondie sharply sat back straight inside her bed as Fang casually knocked on the door before stumbling in, raising a brow at her daughter's odd behavior and carefully looked on the bed to try and find any traces of cocaine or other illicit substances before focusing her attention on her daughter's blue eyes. "We're going to eat soon ladies; can I please ask ya to put the table? Elia is in a very deep conversation with god knows who."

"Really? Who?!" – "I don't know Rhea, and it's none of your business! If anyone has to know it's me or Lightnin', yeah?" Rhea nodded in defeat as she stood up from the bed to leave her bedroom with Charlotte, the two girls chuckling as the blondie slowly made her way towards her sister's door but sharply turned back around as she spotted her Mum standing in front of it with her arms crossed on her shoulder and her foot tapping the ground. "None of your business you little minx."

"Darn!" said Rhea as she went back towards the living room with slumped shoulders, winking at her best-friend's sight before they both grabbed the plates from the cupboards to align them perfectly. "I need to know who it is! Boyfriend you think?" – "I thought your sister was gay." – "Really? I don't think she is actually. I'll have to investigate this."

Charlotte chuckled as she placed the cutlery next to the plates while Rhea was grabbing the glasses from the cupboard before closing it back, casting a quick look towards her Mum working her magic above the stove and came back with the dinner she had rustled up. Every time she was staying here for the week, she had the chance to eat her mother's old recipes she had received from her own mom when she passed away and were only made of delicious Australian recipes while Elia was coming back from the bedroom with a small smile on her lips.

"Hey sis, who was it on the phone?" – "No one you know Rhea" was her younger sister only answer and had the incredible effect of making her open wide eyes under so much secrecy, now only wanting to know more about this mystery woman or man she had been talking to. As she was slowly thinking about it, she noticed that Elia had been on the phone more than once during the week spent in their other house but had never thought about her little sister having a huge crush on someone.

"Alright girls, this is actually something easy, crispy baked fish. If it's disgustin' just throw it away." Rhea shook her head in amusement as she grabbed the spatula to first serve her friend sitting on her right before pouring some of the food inside her mother's plate, then her sister's and finally her own, her tongue already licking her lips in delight before bringing the filled fork to her lips. She closed her eyes in pleasure, feeling the different flavors mixing inside her mouth to collide against her tongue before being taken away from her dream land. "How's the presentation goin'?"

"Good! We're almost done. It due for Friday. So in two days. We still have time!" – "Right. What about ya Elia, did ya give your paper back? It was for today right?" the brunette nodded with a smile, glad to see her mother hadn't forgotten about the paper that Lightning had corrected the previous day before shoving her fork inside her mouth, quickly glancing at Rhea and Charlotte looking at each other with smiles on both their lips. She arched a brow at their sight before she began to choke on her food, the girl quickly leaving the table in a hurry.

Rhea arched a brow and followed her little sister towards the kitchen to pat her back before she flinched as the girl sharply turned around with her finger pointing in her direction. "You" she said in a whisper, "You and Charlotte! You're dating!" the blondie slightly opened her mouth and began to huff in her sister's face while her cheeks were slightly getting as pink as her mother's hair. "I knew it, you're blushing! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because no one knows! Even at school! So if you tell anyone I will kill you!" – "I won't tell anyone Rhea, I'm not a child! But this is so great! How long?" – "6 months?" – "WHAT?" Rhea screwed up her entire face as her sister spoke louder than Lightning when she was angry before watching Fang stumbling inside the kitchen with her hands on her hips and an arched brow. "Hey Mum. Don't worry, everything is good" Elia said with her thumb raised in the air, only waiting for her mother to leave the room so she could be alone with her sister again. But as Fang was staying in front of them both, she observed Rhea quickly going back to her _girlfriend_ while a smile was reaching her own lips.

Rhea sat back down with a sheepish grin and quickly cleared her throat as her sister sat back down in front of her, throwing her an immense smile that she couldn't help but to return. _Oh Elia, you're so the best._ She shook her head in amusement as she felt a hand lading on her knee discreetly and grabbed her fork back from the table to finish her plate in a calm and soothing silence.

"So Miss Yun, you didn't give the car yet?" – "Ha, call me Fang, Charlotte and no! It's like they're doin' it on purpose, I don't know what else to do anymore! We had the car for three weeks now, this is drivin' me insane." Fang sighed heavily and stood up from her chair to grab the plates back in order to bring them back inside the kitchen, her two daughters and Charlotte following her with the rest glasses and cutlery to place them inside the dishwasher. "Ya girls should call, maybe ya will finally be able to win the car. And since ya two are soon goin' to have your driver's license…" she added while casting a glance towards the two older girls with a wink.

"Yeah, I'm actually passing the theory test, it's next Monday! So if I have it, I will finally be able to learn with a teacher and you and Mom!" Fang frowned and slowly turned around to look at her daughter confused, not understanding why she was supposed to drive with her in order to learn how to drive. "You do know we took supervised driving with Mom, right?"

"Oh yeah, right…I forgot! Well, this will be fun then." – "Maybe for you! I already drove with Mom, it was a nightmare! She kept telling me to slow down, to pay attention on the signs, to point in every direction! She was keeping me busy when I should've been watching at the parking lot." The tall brunette chuckled with a quick shake of her head, perfectly picturing Lightning on the passenger seat of her SUV while Rhea was probably frowning heavily and let a smile curving her lips at this simple picture.

"Don't laugh Mum!" – "What? I'm not laughin' at all. Look, I'm deadpan." Fang said as she lifted her head up from the dishwasher to look at her daughter crossing her arms on her chest in annoyance. "C'mon, it's fun. But don't worry, she was like this even with me, especially with the SUV."

"Really?" Rhea asked while goggling towards her Mum, the woman quickly nodding as she grabbed the bottle of white wine from the fridge to pour herself a glass and slowly sat down on the stool while the three girls were sitting down in front of her to listen to the tale.

"Oh yeah. I took her car once because mine had been trashed, ya remember?" Rhea nodded, picturing the car with the passenger door completely ruined one morning because of a 'stupid drunker'. "Well, when it was in the repair shop, I asked Lightnin' if I could take her car to go to the grocery shop, and she surprisingly said yes. But at the last minute she stumbled inside the car with shaky hands and a tensed face, it was so fun. Ya can do the same face actually Rhea!" the blondie frowned heavily under her mother's chuckling and quickly tried to change her facial expression in order to prove her wrong, her hands quickly hiding her face in defeat. "Anyway! So, I was drivin' and she was like shaking like a leaf every time I was takin' a turn, every time I was lookin' at her. It was crazy, but the worst was that I couldn't possibly laugh, I'd be dead already."

"Why not" asked Charlotte with a confused look on her face.

"Because Lightnin' never likes when ya make fun of her for things like this. Trust me, she will have your head in the blink of an eye ha-ha." Fang shut her mouth back, suddenly feeling a wave of emotions rushing inside her every muscle, her heart pinching horribly as she was remembering all the good times she had spent with Lightning and let her gaze losing itself in the void while Rhea and Elia were looking at each other, clearly noticing that their one and only Mum was feeling miserable.

"Yeah, Mom can be tough sometimes, like the day where you stole my make-up." – "Rhea for the thousand times, I didn't steal your make-up!" Rhea rolled up her eyes and glanced at the ceiling for a few seconds before feeling her phone buzzing inside her pocket, scrolling down the screen to read the message 'Mom' had sent her.

" _Rhea, I found your lost make-up in your own room while taking the clothes away from the ground and a packet of cigarettes! I'm going to pretend that these aren't yours and make them mine. Have a nice evening, give your sister a kiss."_ – "Mom gives you a kiss" Rhea said as she placed the phone back in her pocket, carefully avoiding the topic of the make-up since she had accused her own sister of theft while it was only her own messiness that had hid it under her jeans. "Okay! Mum, do you mind if Charlotte and I go to bed?"

"Not at all girls, go ahead!" Fang said as she was finally out of her thoughts to focus all her attention on the two girls grinning. She gave them both a kiss on the cheek before escorting Elia towards the bathroom to grab her own toothbrush, looking at her younger daughter with a slight frown as the girl couldn't help smiling and giggling from time to time, something oddly reminding her of a younger Vanille when she had learned about a secret. "What are ya hidin' ya little monster?"

"Nothing! I promise" responded the girl before spitting in the sink to disappear from her mother's sight, while Rhea and Charlotte were in a deep session of kissing on the bed, their hands firmly intertwining in happiness while smiles were reaching both their delicate lips.

* * *

" _Hey Rhea, hope your presentation with Charlotte went well today and hope you are okay. Love, Mom."_ Lightning pressed on send but kept the phone on the table she was sitting at, looking carefully left and right to observe the paintings on the walls, the people talking and flirting at different tables before a small smile reached her lips at the sight of her date, quickly standing up from her chair to give each other a kiss on each cheek.

"Hey Lightning, how are you?" the girl said, the fabulous English accent still having the incredible effect of giving her the same goosebumps than the first time she had heard her speak up before sitting back down, pointing at the chair with a smile.

"I'm great, what about you Alex?" Lightning answered with a smile as she handed the cocktails menu to the redheaded girl, carefully observing her skin before locking her blue eyes with her hazel one's, the eye-contact lasting a little longer than originally planned, Lightning quickly feeling her cheeks getting slightly warmer in embarrassment.

"I'm great! Long day at the office, but now I can enjoy the beginning of my week-end in your company, so yeah, I'm great." The pink-haired girl chuckled, the warmth spreading in her cheek being almost unbearable but having the effect to make the girl chuckle in front of her, their gazes crossing to provide another deep eye-contact. "What are you having? I think I'm going to take a sweet glass of Red Wine."

"I was thinking about taking the same thing, in fact." – "It's settled then. I spotted one that will be excellent with some tapas, would you excuse me for a minute while I go to the bar?" Lightning slightly opened her mouth but simply provided a smile in the end. She was being treated like a real lady and wasn't going to spoil it by arguing about the fact that she should pay and not her date.

She looked at the woman standing a little further away with her stomach leaning on the counter in order to speak with the bartender, the man quickly nodding and smiling before she was finally able to came back towards her seat, Lightning taking a good look at the girl's outfit. The first thing she saw was the pair of black high-heels, the red color under them quickly indicating her that this particular pair was nothing else but Louboutins. She then looked at the dress the woman was wearing, perfect and black, giving a good sight on the girl's hips and butt along with her breasts until she finally landed back on the pair of hazel eyes. "It should be there in a few minutes, at least that's what the man told me."

"Alright." Lightning said with a smile before her phone buzzed on the table. "Excuse me, it's my daughter."

"Of course! Rhea and Elia, is that right?" the pinky nodded with a smile, carefully looking at the text telling her that the presentation had gone 'super great' and that they had obtained an A, arching a brow at her daughter's last sentence 'Diseases are cool' but simply locked the phone back in despair. "How are they doing?"

"Good, apparently. Rhea, the oldest one received a good grade. It's encouraging." Alex smiled at the sight of the pinky shining, looking extremely proud of her two children the few times she had brought them up.

"You are getting along with your daughters?" – "Yes. It was hard a few years ago, with the divorce but everything is settled now." Lightning smiled, looking at the waiter placing the plate of tapas in front of them along with the bottle of red wine, the two glass being elegantly filled before they were both left alone to grab their glasses. "Cheers Alex, and thank you."

"Cheers Lightning." The pink-haired girl chuckled, and inwardly punched herself in the face for providing such a ridiculous sound in front of her date, drowning her idiocy inside the wine under her nose. "So, how was your day?"

"Fine! Caroline's in the hospital right now, she's supposed to go into labor on Sunday." – "That's great! And you'll be there, is that right?" – "Yes, I'll supervise everything carefully so it goes well." Alex grinned. Lightning smiled back at her, knowing that the well-being of their respective friend was everything they were both hopping for, along with the baby's. "In any case, would you want me to keep you in touch?"

"Oh I would love that! I sadly have business to attend to on Sunday and won't be able to make it to the hospital." Lightning smiled politely, trying her best not to focus on the fact that her date had 'business to attend to' by placing the glass back to her lips with a slight frown. "Don't worry, Light, it's just my parents coming in town." _Fuck I'm burned. Someone call the unit._

Indeed, her cheeks turned crimson red as the girl had felt obligated to justify herself for her activities. "I'm sorry, it's me. I shouldn't have acted like this."

"Actually you should, I doesn't bother me at all, on the contrary." Lightning lifted her head up from the table and smiled cheerfully in the girl's direction before watching her moving her chair to come closer to herself. She took a deep and sharp breath as a hand landed on her thigh, the other one slowly grabbing her by the nape to pull her closer until their lips finally met in the middle, Lightning feeling her heart thumping inside her chest like a machine gun. She stopped breathing and closed her eyes as the kissed was lasting a few seconds longer and felt like she was spinning in every direction, the sensation quickly bringing her back to a state of drunkenness where every wall seemed to move on its own before she snapped her eyes open again to look at the girl with puppy eyes. "I'm sorry, I wanted to do that the moment I met you…I hope I don't seem too needy."

"No, not at all. It was…it was the right time." She said, definitely trying to convince herself that her marriage with Fang was dead and buried as she grabbed her date's hand to intertwine her fingers with her own. "It was the right time" she said again in a soothing way before feeling lips reaching her own again.

"Then perfect. But just so you know, you should eat the tapas while they're still warm, I hear it's better this way." Lightning chuckled again, but suddenly she didn't care about this noise she had always found stupid and simply enjoyed the fact to be with someone nice and that seemed to care about her, slowly moving her hand to grab one of the appetizers carefully to place it inside her mouth, a wave of Spanish culture hitting her right in the face in a painful way as the thought of her trip with her two daughters and ex-wife came back to the surface, and could almost feel the scar of her broken heart hurting her.

She clenched both her fists in anger, remembering why her marriage went south before focusing all her attention back on the redhead sitting next to her, and placed a soft kiss on her lips after swallowing the food to enjoy every single moment of her presence.

At 10PM, Lightning was home. Alex and her had told each other goodbye with a deep and passionate kiss in front of the bar they had been drinking in before casually driving back home with a smile on her lips. It was a strange smile, since the only person that had managed to provide it had been Fang. _Fang. Get out of my head for fuck's sakes_ she thought in annoyance, waving her hand in front of her face to erase the picture of the tanned woman grinning in front of her.

These pictures were suddenly replaced by the ones she had always hated. By the ones she had always found the most difficult to look back at. The very ones that had started to make her marriage crumble until it evidently found itself around a pile of rock. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes to find the sleep she had been looking for and let her thoughts carrying her further away from this empty house.


	4. Is there somewhere?

**Hey! Thanks for the reviews :) Hope you'll enjoy the rest.**

* * *

"Come on! It's nothing!" Rhea waited patiently in front of her sister with her arms crossed on her chest, watching Elia's face being slightly distorted by disgust at the sight of the beer standing in front of her while a smirk was reaching her lips. "I've had way worse than that Elia" she added before taking a long drag on her fag.

"That's because you're a drunker, I'm not! I saw your fake face on Thanksgiving, like you didn't like Champagne so Mom could see you!" Rhea sneered as she was feeling pretty proud of herself since her mother had totally bought her act.

"I'm not a drunker and yeah, that was pretty fun" the older sister said with the same grin on her lips. "Now come on, it's beer, it's nice. And dang it, it's time you know what alcohol is!"

"I'm fifteen" Elia answered with a frown on her face.

"Who cares?" Elia pouted and crossed her arms on her chest, her gaze still being fixed upon the glass of beer whilst her sister was taking drags from her cigarette from time to time before crashing it in the ashtray under the lightbulb hanging over their heads.

"Rhea, you found you make-up." – "What?" she asked as her entire body tensed up. "I didn't."

"You did! Oh my god you're a jerk!" Elia said with a slightly opened mouth, unable to understand why her stupid older sister hadn't apologized for accusing her of something she hadn't done.

It's not my fault! Mom found them under my clothes, along with my packet of cigarettes that she took. She simply told me that 'she was going to pretend these weren't mine' and took them!" Elia couldn't help but grin under that fantastic news while Rhea was folding her arms across her chest aggressively.

"Wow, you do look like Mom Rhea, it's creepy."

"Shut it and stop making fun of me." – "No, this is funny." Rhea shook her head in annoyance as she grabbed her own beer from the table to place it at her lips, taking a long, long sip from it before gasping in pleasure, her tongue licking the foam in the corners of her mouth with delight. "You really want me to drink, don't you?"

"Yes! And hurry up before Mom comes home, I will die if she sees this." – "I have a feeling that you like dancing with the devil Rhea" Elia said as her hand went towards the beer to grab the glass carefully, quickly smelling the alcohol with a wince of disgust. "Okay, I'm going to try your beer. If I'm sick after this, I will throw up in _your_ room, and on _your_ clothes."

Rhea smiled mirthlessly in her sister's direction as she unfolded her arms to place her palms on the table, her eyes slightly screwing up to look at the glass getting higher and higher before Elia finally began to swallow the alcohol. She opened wide eyes and let a beam appearing on her lips as the girl placed the beer back on the table with a shrug. "So? What do you think? Are you already drunk?"

"I'm not already drunk Rhea." – "How could you know, you've never been drunk!" Elia arched a brow and bobbed her head quickly, not wanting her sister to actually see she might be right about something in her life and simply grabbed the glass of beer back under her concerned gaze. "Don't go too fast Eli' you're going to be sick as shit. Trust me."

"How long have you been drinking exactly Rhea?" Elia asked while her finger was sliding on the edge of her glass.

"Uh? Oh, not very long! A year maybe, something like that?" she answered quickly, hoping her sister was already to hammered to understand her properly.

"You were sixteen!" – "I know _MOM_!" Rhea sighed heavily and threw her hands in the air to stop the conversation that had the effect to slightly irate her while Elia was still drinking her beer faster than the speed of light. _Oh my god, you're going to be so sick…_ the blondie smirked viciously at the idea of her sister being to hammered to actually realize what she could talk about and was going to make damn sure that before the end of the bottle, Elia would finally cave in and tell her who the mystery caller actually is. "Do you want some?"

"Alright! Hey, do you remember when Mom and Mum got so drunk?" Elia asked as she watched her sister's nifty hands grabbing the bottle to pour her glass before she sat down in front of her with a smile on her lips. "It was crazy."

"Yeah, seems like ages ago! I thought we were going to have to carry them to bed" Rhea responded before grabbing her glass, her gaze slowly getting lost in her own thoughts.

 _It was a Friday night. They were all sitting inside the house at the exception of Lebreau, Lightning and Fang who had been crushing it at the karaoke contest organized by Serah and Vanille, the two girls now only observing their sister's and friend with arched brows._

" _She was looking dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead!" Rhea placed both her hands on her mouth to hide her huge beam, watching her two moms shaking their heads back and forth, their pink and brown hair mixing in the air while Lebreau was now laughing uncontrollably next to them. "Hey now! You're an All Star! Get you game on, go play!"_

 _Rhea had wondered when her two mothers would finally dance in the middle on the living room to show off and it didn't take her mum a long time before snatching her mom's hand to pull her towards her, the pinky rolling up her head in a burst of laughter. She had never seen her mother's acting like this. Well, that wasn't true, she knew that her mum had a tendency to go crazy every now and then, but to see her mom acting like this was really giving her a grin. "Fang! Spin me!"_

 _The blondie chuckled as she saw her mom spinning as asked before being brought back towards her other mother's body, before the music changed. And at this very moment, Rhea didn't understand what was exactly happening before her eyes. All she knew was that Lightning had a bottle of red wine in her hand while Fang had one of white wine, the two women dancing, singing and drinking together under Lebreau's applauses. "Come on girls! You are looking good!"_

" _Then join us Lebreau!" said Fang with a grin on her lips. Rhea casted a glance towards her sister looking at the scene with shimmering eyes, noticing that even Vanille and Serah were looking at them with the same watchful eyes. "Since you're high! Since you steal!"_

" _Since you're gone, since you're gone!" Lightning was happy. Even better, Lightning was feeling she was in paradise. But all of a sudden, all that paradise disappeared to leave place to a world of spinning and quickly stopped her every movements to hold onto Fang, her hand firmly grasping her shoulder to keep her balance._

" _Sunshine?" – "I don't feel so well. I need—to go to the bathroom." Rhea arched a brow as her mother was even paler than she would've thought possible before watching her rush towards the first bathroom on the other end of the house while Fang was casually following her before placing a hand in front of her own mouth. She listened to a 'uh-uh' before spotting her going inside the other bathroom to lock the door back._

" _Well? What's happening to them?" – "Oh Rhea, what you're observing right now is two thirty year old not being able to hold their liquor." Said Lebreau with an amused smile. The two sisters looked at each other with slightly opened mouths, both of them already ready to jump from the couch to make sure everything was okay. "Oh no, I wouldn't go there. I'm pretty sure that if we let you go check on them both, they will kill us all."_

" _Why?" – "Their dignity babe, their dignity."_

"Yeah, they were really drunk. They came out of the bathrooms like, twenty minutes later with swollen eyes and everything, it was so fun." Elia chuckled with a quick nod, looking at her sister with a slight frown as her own world was slightly starting to spin. "So Eli'. Who the guy on the phone?"

"You don't know him Rhea, let it go!" – "So it's a guy! I knew it! Charlotte kept telling me you were maybe gay."- "What? No I'm not gay, I leave that to you."

 _Smash._ "Why did you do that Rhea?" – "Because you deserved it. Now tell me who it is." – "Let's play a game then Rhea. I ask you one question, and you ask me one." the interesting idea Elia had just proposed caught Rhea's attention faster than possible, the girl quickly pouring her own glass with beer before she brought the tip of her fingers together in front of her sister. "I'll start. Who kissed who, you or Charlotte?"

"It was actually mutual. We kissed each other. How old is he?" – "Fifteen like me. Did you already have…sex?" Rhea slightly opened her mouth and was proud that alcohol would probably maker her sister forget about this embarrassing conversation the next morning.

"Yes, four months ago. Where did you meet him?" – "He's in my class. Are you in love?" – "Yes, I am" responded Rhea. She stopped talking for a few seconds and couldn't help but to smile, since no one had ever asked her that question, and asking it herself was always mistrustful. But now, she finally had her answer. She was indeed in love with Charlotte. "What's his name?"

"Elijah. Do you really think mum and mom will be together again?" an awkward silence positioned itself between the two girls, both of them looking at each other with confusion on both their faces while Rhea was deeply thinking about the question her sister had asked her, but was actually unable to answer.

"I…I don't know. I hope so. How long have you been going out?" – "3 months. No one knows. Except you. I'm going to the bathroom." – "Elia? Are you okay?" – "Uh-uh." Rhea arched a brow and followed her sister with an intense stare, quickly listening to a door opening to close back in a hurry, the lock being firmly turn. _Oops._ The blondie winced as she brought the glasses back inside the house to erase every trace of alcohol consumption by cleaning the two glasses with the soap before placing them back inside the cupboards and looked at the bottle with a slight frown while listening to her sister's break-down. _What should I do with you_ she asked herself as she grabbed the bottle to empty it inside the sink. _The trash? No…My room for now then._

Rhea sighed discreetly as she walked in front of the bathroom door, wincing at the noises her sister was emitting and was actually starting to wonder if an alien had been stuck inside her body, picturing the scene in 'Alien' where the beast was coming out of the dude's body. _The spaghetti scene!_ "Elia? Are you dead?"

"I wish! I'm never drinking alcohol ever again!" With a hand placed above her face, Rhea tried to open the door so she could help her sister through this difficult time, time she had already been through with Charlotte on their first hangover where they had both puked their guts out for long minutes. "Go away!"

"You need help Elia! Imagine if mom comes home and sees you here— It's mom! See ya!" Elia opened wide eyes as she was facing the toilets, listening carefully at the front door unlocking and locking back with a hand placed above her mouth to avoid throwing up again, listening to the footsteps going towards the bedroom before the doorknob turned. She flinched roughly, unable to move.

"Rhea? Elia? Who's in there?" – "It's me, mom" Elia said with a shaking voice, her teeth chattering with fear. "I'll be right out, I wasn't feeling well!" She flushed and painfully stood up from the ground to look at her own reflection before washing her hands, face and teeth, discreetly opening the window to erase any traces of smell and took the freshener next to the toilets to spray the entire room.

The girl cleared her throat in anguish as she turned the lock to open the door back, surprised to see that the way was clear as day and slowly made her way towards her own bedroom to crash in her own bed defeated and tired, glad to finally be in her bed without having to suffer through her mother's wrath. But as she was closing her eyes, Elia wondered. She wondered why her mom didn't stay in front of the door like she always used to do, and was slowly beginning to be worried that anything might've happened to her.

* * *

Lightning was in front of the bathroom with her arms crossed on her chest, her eyebrow raising more and more at the devastation that had occurred and was starting to wonder what her two daughters had actually been up to the previous night.

She had spent her entire Monday at the hospital, taking care of her friend's baby that had been born the previous day, checking everything there was to check and taking care of the exhausted mother. Lightning had always loved babies. To her, it was nothing but a gift of nature, something you were conceiving from square one with your own body, the food you were taking, the alcohol and cigarettes you weren't taking at all…It was just something magic.

And it had been the same with her two girls. Rhea was the one she had carried for those nine long months and had only wished to do it again. But circumstances making it apparently impossible, Lightning had devoted her entire attention on the one's she could help come to their full life, and seeing the parent's faces in the end was something she cherished.

She pictured Caroline's smile yesterday morning as she placed her little boy in her arms, watching the tears filling her eyes from exhaustion and a state of indescribable happiness whilst the father was grinning more than ever, the happy family enjoying every second of their brand new life.

As her thought were drifting apart, Lightning made a quick shake of the head and looked back at the bathroom with her arms firmly crossed on her chest, patiently waiting for the two monsters to come out of their holes. _It's 7:10, meaning that Rhea will be up in five minutes, enough time to make myself a coffee before corning her._

She swiftly made her way towards the kitchen to grab her blue mug, smiling at its sight as she placed it under the coffee maker and pressing on the button for it to fill it completely while keeping a watchful eye on the hallway. _What happened in this house when I was at the hospital?_ She frowned and placed her finger in her mouth, trying to find any clues of what might've happened while she was grabbing her mug to go in front of the living room window, her eyes directly stumbling onto the packet of cigarettes standing on the table. _Oh Rhea, you would make a terrible criminal._

As she heard a door opening, the Doctor slowly turned around and moved towards the hallway to position herself at the end of it, looking at the blonde girl coming out of her room with a smile, smile that vanished from her face in a matter of seconds at the sight of Lightning's angry frown. "Rhea, what happened here last night? When I came home your sister was throwing up in the toilets, you were locked inside your room and I just saw your _cigarettes_ on the table. I'm going to be reasonable and leave you two minutes to process everything and will ask you to come back to see me right after. Two minutes, missy."

Lightning turned back around to go sit down at the dinner table with a sly grin on her lips, picturing her daughter's face being quickly distorted by fear that had been turned into terror at the word 'cigarettes' and was slowly bringing her blue mug to her lips to enjoy the sweet taste of caffeine. After the two allowed minutes, she observed Rhea slowly coming her way with a pout on her face, the girl quickly sitting down in front of her mother without daring to make an eye-contact. "So, Rhea. What happened here?"

"I—We. She was—uh…" Lightning frowned as she placed the mug back on the table. She ran her hand through her hair with a little bit of anger as her daughter was clearly unable to speak up, scenarios coming alive inside her mind.

"Did you give your sister a cigarette?" – "What? No, no. I didn't do that mom." Relief crossed Lightning's face. At least, Rhea had the intelligence not to give her younger sister her first cigarette, nicotine being too addictive in a matter of days. "I… I gave her…"

"What did you give her Rhea, I'm starting to lose my patience." – "Beer." She goggled. She was trying to figure out if the words coming out of her daughter's mouth were the correct ones or if she had transformed the last one that was originally supposed to be 'deer' or 'leer". "I gave Elia…beer."

"I have five questions. What you are going to do right now Rhea is to wake your sister up, give her some ibuprofen because I'm guessing that her head is hurting, drink your coffee and the second you are both fit, I want you back in front of me. Clear?" she spotted the quick nod before Rhea left the table in a hurry with her gaze fixed upon the floor and listened to the door opening in order to wake Elia up.

Lightning placed both her hands on her face to rub it completely, loud sighs leaving her throat every now and then to try and calm herself down, but couldn't help but to find something amusing in this situation. Well, she wasn't finding it amusing, but she was now damn sure that Rhea wouldn't do the same mistake twice in a row and let a smirk reaching her lips behind her hands while her eyes were looking at her palm. _I will have to tell Fang about this._

The prospect of talking to Fang, meaning having a coffee with her since this kind of information wasn't one to be told over the phone or simply with a lousy text message wasn't going to cut it at all, was slightly frightening her. She tried to think of the last time she and her had been _alone_ in a room together, and perfectly remembered that this moment had occurred for their divorce, when they had both signed the papers. Indeed, both their lawyers had left them alone so they could be in a more private environment where the atmosphere had hung heavy above both their heads until their evidently got into a long and painful fight where bird names had flown in the entire room to bounce back on the four walls. _But this is about the girls now. It won't be the same._

She looked at the void, tying to think about a way to ask Fang to meet her, the sooner the better before focusing her attention on her left to watch the two girls slowly making their way inside the living room, Elia's face being distorted by pain, her thumbs carefully massaging her temples while Rhea was reaching the bathroom to grab to box of pills. "Here, take two."

Lightning nodded in her older daughter's direction before standing up from her chair to place the empty mug back in the dishwasher and slowly made her way towards the bathroom. "Rhea, as soon as I'm out of the shower, I want you both sitting at the table. And do not try to lie to me, comedy will not work this time." She observed the head ducking to stare at the ground and simply opened the other bathroom's door in order to turn the water on and making her way back inside her bedroom to grab fresh clothes, already grinning at the idea of a hot and relaxing shower.

The second the clothes were placed on the sink, Lightning began to slowly strip in front of the mirror, looking at her body with a faint smile and slowly placed herself under the hot water, her eyes closing in pleasure while her hands were carefully brushing her face. She found herself thinking about Caroline and evidently Alex, since the girl had been present Monday night to look at the new-born baby with a beam. They had talked, shared their stories and past life where Lightning had found out that Alex had once too been married to a woman during five years, and could still picture her face when she had told she had married to Fang for sixteen years. _We got married when I was twenty. We were so young._

A sigh of despair left her mouth as she grabbed the shampoo from the floor and quickly focused her attention back on her two evil daughters, quickly finishing the rest of her shower to finally have that important talk.

As she came out of the bathroom, Lightning was pleased to see that both Elia and Rhea were sitting at the table with their bowls of cereals in front of them, slowly making her way towards them both to take a seat in front of them. As she had thought, none of them had the guts to actually look at her, but this time she couldn't actually blame them. They both knew they were in for the longest minutes of their lives, and she was sure going to take an vicious pleasure by taking all the time in the world.

"Rhea, how long have you been drinking?" She observed her older daughter flinching at the question, her mouth slightly opening while her lips were starting to quiver in fear. "Well?"

"I… a few months, mom…" – "How do you manage that? You were sixteen. So, how in the hell can you purchase alcohol?" – "I…I have a—." Lightning arched a brow as she observed the tear rolling down on her daughter's cheek to fall on her thigh, her heart slightly breaking at the sight of her daughter since she knew exactly when Rhea was faking or not. "I have a fake ID."

"I see. Elia, was this your first drink? And why did you agree?" the brunette lifted her head up, locking eyes with her mother scowling look and quickly looked back at the table in fear.

"It was mom. And I agreed because…" as she stopped, Lightning quickly noticed the glance in her older daughter's direction and waited patiently to see what Elia was going to come up with. "To celebrate Rhea's theory test." _Protecting your sister? You really shouldn't about this, Elia._

"Alright. Rhea, did you think about the consequences of your action? Can you imagine what could've happened if Elia had taken more than one or two glasses? Have you thought about it before doing that?!" She slammed her fist against the table in anger, the picture of her younger daughter lying in an ethylic coma appearing before her eyes while her breath was slightly accelerating in rage as she was looking down on Rhea. "This was completely careless! Now let make this clear for the _both_ you. I want you back at the house after your classes, and I will not allow any exits to see your friends for at least a week. And, more importantly, I'm going to have a nice talk with Fang about your behavior. Now, both you go get ready for school. We're leaving in thirty minutes."

"Yes Mom." – "Yes." Lightning frowned, observing both her daughters standing up from the table to go back inside their respective bedrooms and listened to Rhea sobbing through the walls, her eyes slightly closing in anger and defeat.

She stood up from the chair, hesitating to actually go check on her daughters but thought it best to give them both some time alone to think about what they had done and simply went towards her bedroom. She closed the door back behind her, sighs leaving her throat every once in a while before she slowly made her way towards her desk, looking with a smile at the only picture she had kept from her previous life, looking at the four faces smiling in front of the Sagrada Familia during their trip in Barcelona a few years ago and mechanically drew her lips between her teeth as the memory of the trip came back to the surface until her eyes finally closed to let a small tear leaving her eyelashes to fall on her cheek.

* * *

She was waiting in front of the bar with a fag dangling between her lips as she was reading the text she had received with an arched brow, trying to figure out what her ex-wife was actually talking about. _"Hey Fang. Listen, I think we should see each other relatively fast to talk about Rhea and Elia. Please tell me when you are available. Lightning."_

Two things were slightly scarring her in that message. First, that Lightning felt the need to talk about their daughters so abruptly and second, the fact that she had been so polite in her text message, the last one she had received only being a series of a few word 'Rhea with you?' she grabbed the fag back from her lips and sighed heavily as she typed back to answer. _"Hey, alright no problem. I'm free in a few days if you want. Let's say Thursday?"_

She placed her phone back in her pocket with a frown, observing the different people walking next and before her carefully in order to try and spot her sister and Serah supposed to meet her for a drink and simply took a long drag from her cigarette. She leaned on the wall and slightly winced at the contact since the tattoo she had drawn had begun to be drawn on her own skin with Lebreau's talents. It would still need a lot of work since the tattoo was taking the size of her entire back, the aquarelle making it twice longer and more difficult but knew that in the end, it would be magnificent. _Yep, this is goin' to be awesome._

As a high-pitched voice appeared from her right side, Fang quickly turned her attention on the two girls grinning at her sight and roughly received her sister inside her arms. She laughed discreetly at the enthusiasm Vanille had always had inside her body before taking a small step back to give Serah a quick kiss on the cheek. "Ladies. I'm finishin' this and I'll be right there."

"Okay!" answered Vanille with the same grin before walking inside the bar, leaving Fang alone with her fag in hand as her phone buzzed inside her pocket again, the object quickly being grabbed by her fingertips to be placed in front of her face. _"Perfect. Let's say 6PM then in the location of your choice. I'll see you then, Fang."_ She frowned again, wondering what could be so important for them both to talk about as the small wind brushed her face hard enough to make her shiver, the cigarette quickly leaving her fingers after one last drag to end on the pavement, the woman quickly going inside the warm and soothing place.

It didn't take her long to spot the two girls giggling like teenagers on a booth on the left side of the room, smiling at the owner of the bar before sitting down next to her redheaded sister heavily. "What's so funny here?"

"Serah was telling me that Daniel accidentally punched Snow in the nuts earlier today." Fang winced, still remembering the time where Lightning had not accidentally at all thrown her knee inside Snow's nuts because he had talked about sex in front of their two daughters, the memory quickly bringing a smile to her lips. "He was on the floor for a few seconds holding his crotch apparently."

"More than a few seconds, he was red like you can't imagine" Serah said with a smile drawn on her lips, looking more proud of her little boy than anything else before casting a glance in Fang's direction. "What about you Fang, how are you?"

"I'm fine! Got a text from your sister, wants to talk 'bout the girls apparently…" the same sound and look of surprise appeared on Vanille and Serah's faces, both of them sharply turning their attention to Fang who was only able to look at them with an arched brow. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just surprising. What do you think happened?" – "Beats me, she just said that we needed to talk 'relatively fast' about the two girls. Knowing Rhea, it's probably about her grades again…" Serah directly heard the disdainful tone Fang had used to refer to other talks she and Lightning probably already had about this particular subject and began to unconsciously scratch her hands in nervousness. "We'll see Thursday I guess. At least Rhea got her test hands down, that's good news."

"Right, Lightning told me about it! She was so busy about the baby that she nearly forgot about it." – "The baby?" Fang raised a brow as she locked eyes with Serah's, wondering why a baby was suddenly appearing in all of this.

"Yeah, her friend Caroline had her baby on Sunday! Lightning stayed at the hospital to check if everything was okay, I had her on the phone, she sounded so happy." A smile crossed Fang's lips, still remembering when she had popped Elia out of her belly and could still picture Lightning's glowing eyes in front of such a beautiful baby, tears of happiness leaving both their eyes the second their heard the small baby cry. _If only… No._

She shook her head vigorously, glad to see the waiter was finally here to take theirs orders and checked her phone to look at the date of the day. _The 30_ _th_ _of November. Okay._ "Uh, I'll take a beer please" she said as she looked at the man with blue hair smiling in her direction, a smile that she quickly returned before looking back at her ex-sister in law. "In any case, someone finally won the damned the car."

"Really? Who?" – "Charlotte actually! Rhea's friend. I was so glad, we can give new gifts now." – "You do realize that Rhea will want the exact same car than her best friend, right?" Fang slightly opened her mouth and shook her head in amusement. "It's true Fang, you know how she is."

"Well, we'll see with Lightnin' when I see her then." Vanille made a quick bob of the head and tried to think of a subject that wouldn't bring up the pink-haired girl every single time as she could see the annoyance drawn on her sister's face.

"So, your tattoo?" Fang smiled, explaining that it had now started and that it should -if everything was going well-be finished before Christmas. "That's cool! What is it exactly?"

"It's a Golden-naped Tanager. Blue with a gold neck. I love it" Fang said while looking surprisingly proud of her own drawing before handing her hand to grab her beer handed to her by Yuj, the three girls quickly clicking their glasses together. "Cheers ladies."

"Cheers!" with shining green eyes, Fang placed the glass to her lips, enjoying the sweet taste of the beer rushing inside her throat while she was carefully looking at the entire bar. She started to think of a place where she could see her ex-wife without being completely alone, a bar or a coffee place being the two only possible solutions crossing her mind. _Yeah, we can't be alone anymore._

She sighed. Sighed in pain, sorrow and regret, wondering why she had been so selfish a few years ago, thinking that maybe, just maybe, if she had been more present for Lightning, their couple would've make it through the years, that maybe, she would be here with her sister, Serah and her ex-wife, the four women laughing loudly at something that had happened, or maybe even laughing about whatever Lightning wanted to talk to her about. But no, she had to think about her own feelings before she thought about her wife's one, the one it had actually happened to. "Fang?" she listened to her name being called by her sister, but couldn't possibly answer. All she could feel was this growing pain in her throat as she was trying to maintain the shameful tears she had been holding for the past seconds and firmly closed her eyes as she pictures her ex-wife with pain written all over her face, her cheeks black from the make-up that had rolled on her cheeks because of tears she had spread, watching her shaking body on the bathroom floor. "Fang!"

She snapped her eyes open, not noticing her moist cheeks as Vanille was grabbing her hand in anguish and sharply focused her attention on the two girls looking at her with big worried eyes, a loud sniff leaving her nose before she brushed her cheeks. "Excuse me" she said in order to go inside the bathroom to clean herself up, ignoring the looks and arched brows on people's faces as she opened the door to lock it back behind her.

With her palms on the sink, Fang was cursing between her lips. All she could think about was that she had screwed up big time, and that nothing would ever be enough for Lightning to forgive her. But as this thought implanted itself in her mind, Fang frowned. She frowned because she had had enough. She wanted Lightning back for the simple and obvious reason that even after two years, she was still loving her like the first day, and was going to make sure that she would win her back. But to make that happen, she would need backup and luckily for her, she knew exactly who she could talk too about this and let a smile reaching her quivering lips in pleasure.


	5. Back in town

Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it! And also big thanks to **FireHeavenProductions27**! :) Hope you will enjoy!

* * *

 _Tonight's the night_ , Lightning thought as she was looking between her patient's legs to make sure everything was in order since the teenager in question had apparently terrible menstrual cramps every single time she had her period. Menstrual cramps were normal in a woman's life but this teen seemed to be in terrible agony, as her mother had said, since she was usually crying from the pain from dusk till dawn.

"Okay, you can put your clothes back on Joan" said Lightning as she retrieved the gloves to place them inside the dumpster, the instruments she had used quickly following them in a metallic sound. "Could you describe me your pain exactly?"

"Uh, yeah" started the teen with a face redder than the color of ketchup "It's like I was being stabbed over and over again. I can't walk, I can barely eat…" Lightning nodded, escorting the girl back to her desk with a slight frown as she was listening to the symptoms the girl had been suffering about.

"I'm guessing you tried warmth, stretching, sleeping to try and calm this pain down?" – "Yes." The doctor nodded, quickly typing on her computer to look note the meds she was going to prescribe to the girl slowly returning to her natural skin tone. "I bleed a lot too."

"Yes, the cramps you're feeling are making a severe blood loss. This symptom is called dysmenorrhea, it is at least the medical term. There is a question I need to ask you though Joan. Have you already had intercourse with either a man or a woman?" Lightning stopped typing on her computer as she listened to a small gasp, the teenager quickly turning back crimson red in a very obvious shame. "It's alright Joan, this conversation will stay between the two of us."

"Yes…" – "Alright." Lightning said with a soothing tone, trying her very best to make the girl feel more comfortable since she wasn't the one to give her a sermon about sexuality, asking those question on a medical matter more than anything else. "In any case, this pain will increase your blood loss considerably. Have you ever tried medication sold without a prescription?"

"Yes, an anti-inflammatory none steroidal. It helped the first times but then it was the same all over again" the girl answered with the same blush that didn't seem to want to leave her cheekbones.

"I see. What I am going to prescribe you now is a pain-killer used in this precise situation. You will take one pill when the pain starts, every 8 hours. You have to respect this because an overdose could lead to other complications." Lightning smiled at the girl as she was writing everything on the paper, quickly adding another box of pills to slow down the blood loss if it was becoming too problematic. "The second one is for the blood loss, to take every six hours if it's too much for you."

"Alright." She handed the prescription to the girl and grabbed her credit card in return in order for her to pay, quickly handing her the machine so she could input her code, looking at her fingernails for a quarter second before grabbing the machine back to give the girl the receipt. "Thank you Doctor."

"If the pain continues even with the medication, do not hesitate to call me Joan." After a quick handshake, Lightning escorted her patient towards the backdoor so she could leave in peace and carefully closed the door back as the girl was gone. She sighed heavily as she went back to her desk, crossing her legs under it as her nails were drumming the glass. _Abdominal pain in always the worst… God, it's even worse when you're pregnant._

 _She opened her eyes. It was the middle of the night, she didn't know what time it actually was but knew that she could only hear a deep breath next to her head. And that's when it started. She winced roughly, her entire face screwing up with the pain spreading in her lower abdomen as if her belly was ready to implode before she felt the wetness between her legs. "Oh my god. Fang!"_

 _She pushed the woman sleeping on her side, desperately trying to wake her up from her long and deep sleep until she finally managed to find the courage to stand up on both her feet to go on the other side of the bed, and simply threw the palm of her hand in Fang's face. "What? What?"_

" _Fang—the baby. It's…it's coming, my water bro—." With a shriek of agony, Lightning directly placed her hand on the wall to keep her balance while her stomach was hurting her more than anything else in the world. It was an indescribable pain, something she had never thought she could feel and hopped she would never feel again. She observed Fang standing up at an incredible speed to grab her coat from the dresser. "Relax—it's not—coming in the second."_

" _Are you kiddin'? We don't have time to waste Light! Come on let's go have that baby!" Lightning chuckled as Fang placed her coat on her own shoulders and grabbed her hand to crush her every bone. "Oh my god this is so painful!"_

" _Would you like to—talk about pain babe?" said Lightning as she winced roughly, listening to Fang's bones cracking under the pressure she was putting on them and slowly began to move towards the door. She took deep and soothing breath as she was walking, trying to ease the pain however she could, trying to focus her attention on anything else than the baby trying to claw her way out of her and flinched roughly as she pictured the spaghetti scene from the movie Alien they had watched several weeks ago. "Fang—what if it's an—alien. Like in the movie?" Lightning asked with a stammering voice._

" _It won't be an alien Light, it will be the most beautiful baby in the world because it's comin' out of ya." She smiled, touched by the words her wife was telling her as she was stepping out of the house. She squeezed Fang's hand again, listening to the small gasps of pain leaving her throat discreetly before sitting down inside the car painfully. She observed Fang skirting the car like Sonic the Hedgehog before she was sitting behind the wheel, ready to take her to a hospital._

" _Oh my god when will this end!" she said while closing her eyes at the pain who didn't seem to actually end. "Shit! They told me—it would be painful but this is – really an understatement!" she added as her voice was rising, her tone getting louder and tougher every minute of pain._

" _They said it was every seven to twelve minute for five to ten." – "Thank you for the insight—Fang!" Lightning clenched her jaw roughly as both her hands were rubbing on her big belly, desperately trying to take deep and loud breath as she had been told to do when her labor would occur. "We're—we're having a baby."_

" _Yeah we are Light, yeah we are!" she smiled again, noticing that the pain was slowly starting to disappear as she was spotting the hospital a little further away, sighing in relief to finally be free from the agony as the car stopped in front of the hospital. Fang was the first one to rush inside the establishment to warn about her state, spotting her wife coming back with a medic pushing a wheelchair towards the car. "Okay ya need to sit on the wheelchair now."_

" _What? No! I'm not that weak!" Lightning said, her arms crossing on her chest in defiance._

" _Light, don't argue with the doctor and sit down on the chair!" the pinky frowned heavily as she felt Fang's hand inside the palm of her hand and slowly sat down on the chair in order to be pushed towards the hospital. "I'm going to go park the car!"_

" _No, stay with me! Fang, you stay with me!" She observed her wife's face being distorted by fear before being turned around to go inside the hospital. "Come back as soon as possible!" she yelled as the pain began to spread in her back and abdomen again, the doctor quickly taking her in a room so she could be fixed about the advancement and even if the pain was too much, she smiled. She smiled because in a few hours, her family would have a brand new member. "Rhea" she said in a whisper. "Soon you'll be with us."_

Lightning opened her eyes again, looking at the void standing before her and slowly made her way towards the chair. It was nearly 6PM, meaning that she would soon meet Fang for their talk about their two impossible daughters that had kept their mouth shut for the past days and obeyed Lightning's wishes. Indeed, they were always in their separate bedrooms when she was coming back from work and were actually working on their homework's, or at least, pretending too. But at least, they were both inside the house and not wandering around the different bars of the city to get drunk and throw up their guts. _Silver lining_ she thought with a smile as she was cleaning the entire office in order to leave.

After ten more minutes, Lightning was back behind the wheel of her SUV and slowly driving towards the bar she was supposed to meet her ex-wife, anguish giving her a light frown and making her hands shake more than she cared to admit. _It's alright. Everything will be al-right_ she tried to convince herself.

As Lightning parked the car in front of the bar, she stood still behind the wheel with her hands in placed I front of her face and tightly closed her eyes . She mentally prayed for mercy and more especially, for everything to go as planned without getting into an argument before she finally stepped outside the vehicle with her purse firmly in her hand, already spotting the brunette sitting outside with a fag in her hand and her gaze lost in the void.

* * *

She placed the fag to her lips and took a deep drag from it while her stare was fixed upon the road, looking at the tires passing in front of her eyes every now and then while her mind was deeply focused on the fact that her ex-wife should be here any minute.

In fact, it's only when she lifted her head up at the sound of heels that Fang noticed that she was already here. She stood up from her chair, unsure of how she was supposed to greet the woman and simply gave her a faint smile since a handshake was too professional, and a kiss on the cheek way too personal. She observed Lightning smiling back as she sat down on the chair in front of her own, the two women only being able to look at each other without saying a simple word.

It was Lightning who broke the silence with a simple "Hi", Fang only being able to smile at the soft tone the woman had used. "Hey Light. How are ya?"

"I'm good, I'm good…" she answered as she nibbled on her lip. "What about you Fang?"

"Same." They both looked at each other, letting the silence standing between the both of them in a very uncomfortable way while Fang suddenly wished she was dead. It was the same thing again. No one was speaking up, and it was driving her insane. "How was work today?"

"Long. I'm glad it's almost the week-end. What about you? I heard the car was won." Fang arched a brow, surprised to hear that Lightning knew anything about this fact. "The girls…When I'm driving them to school, they always want to listen to the broadcast." Warmth spread inside her heart. Her two girls were really the best in the world and nothing would ever change her opinion about this. "Charlotte won it right?"

"Yeah! I saw Serah on Tuesday, she told me that Rhea would probably want the same." Fang answered with a chuckle since she had been more and more convinced about this particular fact.

"Yeah, we'll see about that" said Lightning with an ice-cold tone, her eyes quickly narrowing in anger. Fang nibbled on her lip in anxiety and knew that Rhea was in the shooting range of Lightning's brain. "In any case, so yeah. Would you like to get down to business now, Fang?"

"Uh, alright…what happened exactly? Ya seem so angry." Fang took a deep breath, expecting the worse but hopping for the best.

"I am. Well, I was" Lighting started as she grabbed a cigarette from her purse, quickly lighting the cancer stick hanging between her lips. Fang casted a look to her right, observing the waiter coming towards them with a tray in his hand and greeted both of them. "I'll have a glass of Red Wine, Merlot."

"And a glass of White Wine, Chablis." Fang smiled at the man as he left the table before focusing her attention on her ex-wife taking angry drags on her fag. "So, what's goin' on Lightnin'?"

"First of all, did you know Rhea was smoking?" She gawked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and wondered how this could be a part of a 'first of all', her fists already clenching in slight anger. "You didn't. I found it out on Thanksgiving. But this isn't the worst, at least not to me."

"How can _this_ not be the worst?" Fang asked as she intertwined her fingers, her elbows on the table.

"Because as Serah told me, my parents found it out too and yelled at me, and it didn't fix anything, on the contrary." Lightning said while taking a drag from her cigarette to make her point.

Fang cleared her throat as she watched the waiter bringing the two glasses back to the table, quickly leaving them alone again so they could stare at each other with frowns on both their faces. "Alright. What's the second of all then?"

Lightning took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to explain the situation without making Fang too angry about it since she figured that her daughter's had already been yelled at enough for now. "Monday night, I came home from the hospital. When I arrived, I heard Elia throwing up in the toilet, telling me everything was okay and that she wasn't feeling well." Fang frowned as she took her glass from the table to drink a sip from it. "I was tired, I hadn't slept at all from Sunday to Monday so I let it go, I needed to rest, and well, let's say that for personal reasons, that day had been an emotional roller-coaster."

Fang cleared her throat again. She had had the exact same thought as she had learned from Serah that Lightning had spent the entire day in the hospital and quickly shook her head to erase her thoughts, ready to listen to her ex-wife's story, the fact that she still had her ring on surprising her even more. "In any case, when I woke up the next morning, the bathroom was a mess and it reeked." She winced, leaving Lightning the time to take another drag on the cigarette while she was grabbing a new one from her own bag to place it between her lips.

"I waited patiently for Rhea to stand up so she could explain everything to me, spotting at the same time a packet of cigarette on the table outside." Lightning said with furrowed brows, glancing to the right as tires shrieked on the pavement.

"She made Elia smoke?" Fang asked seriously concerned.

"No, she didn't. And I believe her." Fang nodded slowly as she brought the lighter in front of her cigarette, taking a drag as the tip was slightly reddish. "I asked her to tell me about what had happened, and finally told me Elia drank beer."

"I'm sorry?" Fang asked with an arched brow. "How is this possible, how can she even purchase it?" Lightning raised her finger as she blew the smoke away from her lungs while Fang was shaking her head in severe disappointment.

"I asked her to wake Elia up so we could have a chat. When they were both fit, I asked her that exact same question to which she responded she had a fake ID, and that she had been using it for the past months." It was now, that Fang was reaching the peak of her anger. She cracked her neck roughly and lifted her upper lip in contempt, wondering how any of this could've happened. "I asked Elia if she had been forced by Rhea, but she simply told me that it was to 'celebrate her theory test'"

"Rhea is completely careless. What if somethin' had happened? Does she even think about this kind of things?!" Lightning cleared her throat in discomfort since Fang's anger was everything she hated, reminding her of too many fights they had had before the divorce and simply waited for the woman to calm back down. "What did ya do?"

"I yelled. I told Rhea that Elia could've ended up in a coma and that she was careless, like you said. They are both grounded until further notice." – "Good."

Lightning opened wide eyes. In this family, she had always been the tough one while Fang had always been more lax, joking around and honestly pushing her buttons from time to time, but as she could clearly distinguish the rage consuming her from the inside, Lightning was glad. Glad to see she hadn't overreacted, because if she had to be honest with herself, it wasn't a drink of beer that could've put her daughter in a coma but more an entire bottle of vodka. "So to sum up, Rhea smokes and drinks and Elia discovered the joy of alcohol, that right?"

"That's right. That's why I wanted to see you." Lightning said with a faint, almost undistinguishable smile.

"Yeah. Thanks for tellin' me Light." Lightning nodded with a pinched smile as she grabbed her glass with her fingertips to place it at her lips, letting the alcohol calming her down in its own special way while Fang was still glaring at an invisible person. "Say, do ya mind if I…If I follow ya home? So we can all talk together."

"Not at all, I was hopping you'd come in fact." The two women exchanged a smile before looking in opposite directions. _Why do we have to get along now and not for simple things? Why does it always need to be a fuckin' reason_ Fang asked herself as she placed her fist under her chin, looking at the cars turning on the right or the left at the intersection further away.

"Alright. What should we do then? What kind of… sentence?" As Lightning chuckled, Fang couldn't help but to focus all her attention back to her again. She smiled at her relaxed sight but managed to prevent the urge to nibble on her lips at this sight she had missed so much.

"I don't know yet. Like I told you, they're both grounded. They have to come back home immediately after the end of their lessons and stay inside the house after that." Fang nodded and looked at Lightning with amusement.

"Did ya think about cutting the internet and everythin'?" Lightning nodded with an arched brow, her hand reaching the ashtray to place the ashes inside it instead than the ground and felt Fang's insistent stare on her left hand, her eyes quickly looking at the silver ring around her finger. "Light? Why did ya keep the ring?"

"Because it's part of me" Lightning answered casually, thinking that if anyone deserved to know why she had actually kept it was the person who had placed it around her finger eighteen years ago. "If I take it away I feel naked. Like I'm missing something important." She added with a faint smile as she began to turn it around her finger with her thumb before taking it away with her other hand to look at it. She smiled at the encryption _Lightning and Fang, 12/03/1998_ before putting back on her ring-finger. She quickly casted a glance on Fang's finger, a small pinch reaching her heart as the tanned hand was ringless but didn't bother to bring it up since their meeting was going better than she had hopped. _No need to ruin it all._

"Can I ask ya somethin'?" Fang cautiously asked, observing Lightning's brows arching in surprise.

"Sure." – "Charlotte…Do ya think…?" she began to say before being interjected by Lightning.

"That Rhea is dating her? I'd bet my life on it." Fang chuckled with a small headshake. "I figured it a few months ago. They're always so close and act so strange when you open the bedroom door."

"Yeah, I had the same feelin'. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't goin' crazy." – "You're not. Elia too I think, with the long phone calls every night." The two women laughed simultaneously, the fact that their daughters were trying to be discreet was something that would never work with either of them. "In any case, I'm glad we got to talk about this Fang. You seem to be doing okay."

"I'm fine. The broadcast is workin' well, we have a lot of listeners every mornin'… The girls are makin' me happy, mostly considering the…incident. But ya seem to be doin well to, Light." – "Yeah. Work always made me happy. It's rougher on some days, I had to announce a cancer to a woman yesterday but well… And like you, the girls are my little paradise." Another eye-contact occurred, the two women smiling in each other's direction while they were both secretly thinking that things could be even better, if they were simply still together. "Anyway! Let's finish our drinks and go to my house, it's time to scare them to death."

"Now this is getting' fun!" said Fang with a grin, swiftly taking her glass of wine to finish it completely before going inside the place to pay for the two drinks under Lightning's confused gaze, a thankful smile quickly reaching the pinky's lips as she came back outside with her wallet back in her bag. "Let's go see the two terrors. I'll follow your car, yeah?"

"Let's do this."

* * *

Rhea was in front of the window on the left side of the living room, the one giving her a good sight on the entire street so she could be warn when she would spot the black SUV parking in front of the house. "Do you them?" she heard from behind and shook her head from left to right to indicate that for now, nothing was to report.

She was terrified. She had no idea if, first, her two moms actually got along during their 'date' but also because she didn't know how Fang might actually react on the fact she had made her sister drink and throw up since Lightning had been extremely tough on both of them for being such idiots. _I'm never doing this again, never, never._ "Still nothing?"

"No Elia, in the past ten seconds, no one appeared" she answered with a snippy tone, casting a glance at her sister over her shoulder before spotting two sets of lights coming their way. "Shit, they're here! Both of them! Quick go back in your room!"

In an instant, both girls were back in their respective bedrooms, faking to work on their homework's. Rhea was giving her best in faking, reciting her lesson about poetry she didn't actually give a single damn about before listening to the front door opening and closing back, distinctly hearing two different voices. _They're together. They're getting along. That's a plus. Thank god I drank. I think…_

"Rhea, Elia! Come say hi to your Mum and sit down at the table please!" Rhea took a deep breath to calm her heartbeats in her chest, slowly stepping out of her bedroom to stumble face to face with her younger sister before they both began to walk towards the living room, watching both their mother's with a glass of wine in their hands, white for Fang, and red for Lightning.

"Hey Mum. How are you?" Rhea said as she got on her tip-toe to give her a quick kiss on the cheek while Elia was patiently waiting behind her to do the same.

"I'm good. Learned interestin' things 'bout ya Rhea. Really, really interestin'." The blondie stiffened her entire body at the scowling look her mum was throwing at her while her mom was casually placing her glass back to her lips to take a small sip from her drink and was almost certain to see a small smile hidden behind the glass.. "Sit down, both of ya, yeah?"

The two sisters exchanged a worried look as both their butts landed on chairs while their mothers were doing the same to face them, Lightning placing an ashtray between them both while a cigarette was already burning between her fingers. "First of all, what do ya have to say for your defense?"

"I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it's my entire fault." Rhea began to say with a shaky voice, unable to look at both her mothers.

"That we know Rhea, but do you know how dangerous it was? Did you think about it some more now?" Rhea nodded slowly as she locked eyes with her mom blue one's, watching the arched brow and straight shaped mouth before shifting her attention to her other mum to stare at the exact same facial expression.

"Your mother told me ya were smokin'. I'd like to know how it started. And since when." – "I started smoking a few months ago… it was just to try at first, because everyone was doing it. So I wanted to try…" Rhea started with a quivering lip and shaky hands, now completely unable to look at both her mothers in the eye. "I didn't like it at first but then well…I bought a packet…"

"And what's this about the ID Rhea, how did you get that?" She felt a shiver running down her spine as her mom spoke up with a blunt tone, her eyes scouring the table in anxiety.

"I…I heard someone telling me they knew someone who could make me one… I only had to pay." She finally admitted as she grabbed the Id from her back pocket. She had expected that question and was ready to face the consequences of her actions. "

To pay? Boy oh boy… How much?" – "fifty dollars" Rhea said in a whisper as her eyes closed.

"Rhea, let me just ask you a question. Do you know that possessing a fake ID is a felony?" Lightning said with a sharp tone as she was grabbing the ID from the table.

"Yes…" Rhea said, her gaze pinned on the table.

"So you do know you could've been arrested because of that?" – "…Yes." Rhea nibbled on her lip in anxiety as she lifted her head up to look at both her mothers with glistening eyes. She hated when one of her mother was mad at her and now, they were two.

"Listen, Rhea" Lightning started with a pinched nose. "We know you are young, we've been through this too with our respective parents but you have to be more careful. Drinking underage is extremely dangerous and let along smoking. Right now, what I want you to do is that we're all going to go inside your room and you are going to hand us every packet, empty or not along with every bottle."

Rhea stopped breathing for a quarter second as she observed her two mothers standing up from their chairs, the two fags quickly crashing inside the Crystal ashtray before leading the way towards the bedroom, the blondie painfully following them with slumped shoulders. She pushed her bedroom door and automatically headed towards her dresser, her eyes stumbling onto the three empty packets hidden there and slowly brought them out to place them on the bed. "Alright" she heard from behind, wincing in discomfort as she opened the second drawer to retrieve the bottle of beer they had used with her sister along with another one of wine. She placed them both on the bed quickly before going towards her chest, grabbing the small key around her neckless to unlock it and froze.

This chest was where she had kept her childhood toys but was now filled with a least a dozen of empty packets, lighters and bottles, her face quickly getting distorted by terror as she felt a presence next to her, slowly casting a glance to spot her Mom standing still with her arms crossed on her chest, goggling at the number of things inside of it. "Okay…1,2…14 packets, you can place them on the bed. And… 6 bottles."

"So in total, we have seventeen packets and 8 bottles yeah? So that means wait, lemme think." Rhea slowly turned around to place everything on her sheets, her heart racing in her chest while her cheeks were crimson red from the embarrassment and shame she was feeling whilst Lightning was still snooping around the room to find anything else. "58. Ya are punished for 58 days Rhea."

She looked at her mother with round eyes, her jaw now scattered on the ground in millions of pieces while Lightning was nodding in approval, still carefully scrutinizing every inch of the room, picking up clothes from the ground to place them further away, a smirk quickly reaching her lips at the sight of another packet that she quickly raised in the air. "So 60 days" Fang said as Lightning came back to face the girl. "Bring everything in the kitchen and throw 'em in the dumpster, Rhea. Elia, you don't smoke and you don't drink on your own?"

"No, Mum." Elia said with something close to a smug smile on her lips, the smile vanishing in an instant as she received a striking answer from her mum.

"So ya are punished for 30 days then. And also... Every day for an hour, whether ya are at my place or here ya will do your homework under supervision. Clear?" Rhea nodded again without pronouncing a single word since a single one would make her voice break to release a mountain of tears on her face and was well intended on keeping on a brave face under her sentence. She grabbed the packets and placed them in an empty bag along with the bottles and sluggishly made her way out of her bedroom to place the bag next to the counter, slowly sitting back down at the table with a loud sigh, her entire world crumbling under her feet.

She rubbed her eyes in defeat, listening to her sister saying how unfair everything was since it wasn't her fault at all before feeling a hand landing on her shoulder. She looked up to watch her mum shaking her head in something close to disappointment before turning back around at the sound of Lightning's voice. "Fang, would you like to eat with us tonight?"

"Oh yes Mum, please!" Rhea opened wide eyes and threw an appealing look in Fang's direction as she grabbed her hand to make her stay; the tanned woman chuckling as Elia quickly entered the room with her hands clapping in excitement.

"Ya sure you don't mind Light?" – "Not at all, and I think you won't be able to leave now that the girls heard it." The blondie shook her head and realized that suddenly, all her problems were far gone to leave place to a family dinner, something that hadn't occurred in the past two years and couldn't help but to think that maybe, this was a start to the reconnection of her mother's relationship. _And this is all thanks to me!_


	6. How could you?

**Hiya! Jesus it's been a while. I just remembered I still had this story so sorry for taking such a fucking long time! Hope you'll still like it :) Love ya**

* * *

"Apparently yeah, that's what Fang told me at least" she said while turning the steaks over while Snow was taking care of Daniel by playing with Lego's. "They had dinner and everything. But it's weird since Lightning sees someone else…"

" _Maybe it's over? I don't know…"_ Serah shook her head and looked down at the phone to look at Vanille's frown thanks to FaceTime, her Bluetooth headset proving exceptionally useful in the situation. _"What else did she tell you?"_

"What Rhea had done, so what I already told you. And that Lightning had been lovely. I don't know much…" she frowned, grabbing the spatula standing a little further away to look at her rice nicely cooking in the saucepan before giving her steaks another turn so everything would be perfectly cooked and quickly grabbed a plate behind her to place the three pieces of meat on it before drip-drying the rice in the colander. "I'll keep you in touch anyway, I have to go to feed my men. Love you!"

" _Love you too!"_ Serah smiled and waved at her phone before snatching it back from the counter to place it back inside her pocket and began to put the rice in the three different plates, carefully bringing the first two ones with her gaze fixed upon the floor so she wouldn't accidentally walk on a little piece of the most painful toy ever, asking Snow to grab the last one as she was urging Daniel to go sit down.

"How's Vanille?" Snow asked with his innocent look as he sat down with the plate in hand, winking at his son cutting his meat perfectly, just like he had taught him to do.

"Good! Did you know that Light and Fang had dinner last Thursday? With Elia and Rhea." The light-haired man raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting this kind of information at all since the last time he had seen the two women together, they had barely talked to each other, even running away in different direction during the entire evening. "I know, I had Fang on the phone yesterday. I knew she was supposed to see her to talk about Rhea's mischiefs, but I didn't expect that."

"Yeah, it's weird… Do you think it means something? Your Sis always seemed to hold a grudge onto Fang so…" Serah nodded as she began to cut her own piece of meat with her steak knife, casting quick glances in her son's direction to see if everything was alright. "Although, it would be great if they were getting back together again."

"Yeah. But—." Serah started. She shut her mouth back, remembering she had sworn to keep her mouth strictly shut about Lightning's date and shook her head as Snow was getting more and more interested to hear the dirt. "I can't tell you."

"You wouldn't tell your amazing and cool husband I have to say, I'm hurt." Daniel laughed diabolically, quickly receiving strange looks that made his mouth close back to chew on his food quietly. "Come on Serah!"

"Nu-uh, Lightning will kill me if she finds out I told you." – "And I'm sure you told Vanille! Even if she's _Fang's_ sister, you know her ex-wife?" Serah flinched at the use of the word ex-wife and felt a frown reaching her forehead in a matter of seconds. _Maybe he will even try and help me. I have to tell her._

"Fine, come next to me then." She threw a look in Daniel's direction still eating his food cheerfully while Snow was slowly standing up from his chair to go next to his own wife, Serah already clearing her throat as anxiety rush through her veins. She came closer to his ear in order to only provide a whisper so her son wouldn't hear and then tell the entire planet about this particular fact. "Lightning is dating a girl named Alex. It's been two weeks, something like this."

She slowly pulled away from her husband's face to look at the mix of feelings crossing his face, mostly being confusion, concerned and incomprehension and focused her attention back on her plate so she could finish eating in order to get ready to go to the park with Dan and Snow. "Are you sure?" He asked discreetly.

"I am. But I've never seen her, I'm supposed to meet her tonight actually, we're having dinner at Light's house since the girls are at Fang's for the week."

"So you are going to meet her?

"Yes Snow, that's basically what I said." Serah answered with an amused smile before finishing her plate by sponging the sauce with a piece of bread. "I'll keep you posted anyway."

The pink-haired girl smiled as Snow went back to his own seat before thoughts began to collide inside her mind. She was thinking about the fact that Fang had been hopping onto something that might not even be worth fighting for, since Lightning seemed pretty confident in her new relationship with Alex to the point where she was even allowed to meet the girl. She frowned but smirked nonetheless as she was trying to think of things to say to make everyone more uncomfortable than anything else, the words Fang, Australia, Kangaroos and Koala's quickly reaching her brain to make her smirk grow only wider. "You're thinking about something. You always have that smile when you're going to do something bad."

"That's not true!"

"Trust me it is! You're always like this with Vanille, you look like two teenagers plotting for a coup." Serah opened her mouth wide in shock, already grabbing the three empty plates to bring them back inside the kitchen and pointing towards the rest of the objects on the table for Snow to bring them back, carefully thinking about that smile she had when she was conspiring. _I don't have a smile every time._ "Yep, you have something in mind."

"Yeah, well it's not because I'm thirty-six that I can't have some fun!"

"I never said you couldn't babe, I just wonder what you're actually planning…" the pink-haired girl snickered, casting one other glance in her son's direction to make sure prying ears were staying for away from her only to see him building his Lego Death Star that had been in motion for the six months and sharply focused her attention back on her husband.

"Okay. I'm thinking of ways to remind Lightning about Fang, her one and only love." Snow began to stroke his chin, wondering what his wife could actually come up with in a casual and delicate way in order to make his sister in law keep her mind focused on the tanned woman rather than the other unknown female.

"You could mention Christmas. And everything they lived ever since they met. And tell her that Fang will be there, this kind of things. It's also Rhea's birthday on the 14th of January, so that's reason number two…" Serah nodded in approval, amazed by the great ideas Snow actually had in stock and couldn't help but to beam in his direction.

"That's good… I should come to you more often when I'm scheming…"

"How often are you doing this exactly Serah?" Innocently, Serah chuckled and quickly fled the kitchen to go back inside the living'room but this time, forgot to look where she was actually walking. So as her foot landed on the head of Darth Vador, the pink-haired girl roughly clenched her fists and jaw as rage was consuming her.

She turned around extremely slowly and raised her foot from the ground to look at the piece of toy on the ground before glaring at both Snow and Daniel who were keeping their mouths strictly shut in fear as they could see the pinky's eyes slowly turning black until a wink finally made its appearance, her schemes starting again as she walked away to go back inside her own bedroom, the sly grin quickly reaching her lips in excitement.

* * *

Fang was in front of the console with Rhea. They were both teaming up with Charlotte and her father in an alien kind of game. It was teams of four where the player could choose its own race, going from the Asari being represented by blue women to Geth, a race of machine having an important role in the story of the game. "Rhea there's a horde of stupid Reapers next to ya!"

"I know Mum! I'm trying but I only have a Mattock, this is kinda difficult!"

"Then switch Weapons!"

" _Yeah!"_ they heard from the Kinect placed in front of them both.

Fang sneered as she hid behind a wall at the sight of a Banshee, a terrible and frankly horrible beast looking like a freaking tall pregnant skeleton and grabbed her collector rifle instead of the N7 Eagle.

"Take that ya bitch!"

" _Well Fang! I'm surprised to hear this kind of words coming out from your mouth!"_ the tanned woman snickered as she was shooting an entire magazine inside the Banshee's head, quickly glancing at the other TV in the room to look at her daughter trying to stay alive by keeping herself safe under a bridge while behind shot at by a horde of Brutes.

"Rhea, run away!"

" _I'm here to save you!"_ Fang laughed heartily in front of her TV, not surprised to hear Charlotte running like a brave soldier towards her girlfriend's position before they both ended up dead on her screen. _"What the hell?!"_

"There was the spider-Rachni thing behind you!"

" _Oh shit!"_

Glancing in her daughter's direction, Fang couldn't help but to sneer with pride. Observing the drop of sweat running from her eyebrow, she could see Rhea's geek side blazing like a fire.

"Ya both suck, let Mark and I handle this like grown-ups."

"No come save me Mum!"

" _You too Dad!"_

Fang quickly rushed towards her daughter's position, looking right and left to make sure everything was in order for her to pass through, throwing a biotic grenade on her way and grabbed the missile launcher to shot inside this pile of monsters before jumping from the bridge to land above the two bodies.

"There, go, go!"

"Thanks Mum!"

" _Thank you miss Yun!"_

"Charlotte! We're playin' Mass Effect together, call me Fang!"

Rhea threw a glance in her mother's direction, quickly spotting the fag between her lips and discreetly cursed between her teeth since she could actually use one too, the stress of round 6 slowly starting to be felt inside her bones. "

Go, Rhea, follow me since you can't keep yourself alive!"

"Mum this is the platinum Level, of course I can't keep myself alive!"

" _It's the PLATINUM LEVEL?"_

"Of course it is, my mum likes a challenge!"

Fang laughed again as she was switching weapons, watching the rifle going back on her back to be exchanged with her N7 Crusader and began to fire inside the Geth's faces, a smirk on her lips as they were all getting blown away in a matter of seconds.

"Bam, bam! Mark, how are ya holdin' up?"

" _I'm managing, thank god I have the AT12 Raider, I'd be dead otherwise,"_ he playfully said.

" _Are you always playing this game together?"_

" _It happened on numerous occasions yes!"_ Fang nodded in front of the TV although she knew no one except her daughter could see before raising her fist in the air in victory at the sight of the 'Round 6 won'.

"Yes! Get ready ladies and gentlemen, this is goin' to be even tougher!"

" _The tenth is the worst, been there already Rhea?"_

"Yeah, twice. I died like a thousand times. My Mum was goin' insane."

" _Goin'?"_ Fang sneered, proud to see her daughter was slowly catching her accent while the blondie was throwing a scowling look in her direction, the brunette only being able to wink in amusement. _"You're talking like an Australian!"_

"That's not true!"

"It is honey, but it's alright, it's cool."

Fang winked in her daughter's direction quickly placing the ashes inside the ashtray before grabbing her controller again to start the seventh wave, her character, a Krogan basically looking like a Dinosaur grunting in front of the three other characters.

"Let's do this people! Rhea, Charlotte; please try to stay alive, yeah?"

" _Yeah, we have enough problems on our own!"_

"Mum? Where is Elia actually?"

"Phone, as always honey."

Rhea rolled up her eyes in despair before looking at the TV in front of her again, quickly grabbing her Sniper rifle, aiming at the first heads appearing in front of her lens, watching the Collectors appearing in a mass while her heart was slowly thumping inside her chest.

"Rhea be careful, the collector's Generals are real…ya know."

" _Real SOB's!"_ Fang wasn't the only one laughing anymore as Rhea couldn't help but to burst into laughter at her girlfriend's father's interjection, quickly throwing a dark Channel upon a Geth Prime barging in front of her.

"I hate them!"

"Come on honey! The fuckin' Pretorian are far worse, especially the possessed ones! I have one in front of my face and I don't complain."

"That's because you're a nerd Mum!"

"Hm, I think ya are right."

Fang sneered again as she grabbed her biotic grenades to throw them around her daughter as she could spot the few husks surrounding her and rushed in her direction to help her against the Geth Prime who didn't seem to want to die.

"Mark, Charlotte? Everythin' goin' good?"

" _Yes! I'm trying to save her from the Rachni but she's not really efficient…"_

" _You know I can hear you right? I may be in my room but I can."_

Rhea chuckled until her face got distorted by confusion. She watched her Character, a Salarian, flying in the air completely inert and managed to fall in front of Charlotte's character, a small blush reaching her cheeks for god knew why.

" _Oh, hey Rhea, you're looking fit today"_ she said as she was trying to heal the girl.

"Charlotte behind you!" Rhea yelled, nearly standing up from the sofa as if she could go inside the TV to protect her _friend_ from a certain and inevitable death.

"Charlotte; run! Leave her!"

" _I can't do that!"_ she said.

But it was too late. Her Quarian character was dead and buried, executed by a Banshee she hadn't seen in the most brutal way as the enemy's arm went through the chest cavity of the girl without any traces of remorse.

And now, it was only Fang and Mark. Rhea was seeing where the man was going, allowing her to look over her shoulder to see where her mother was too and noticed they were both standing next to each other. Fang was desperately trying to move, but the Bosses were all on their tail. She could see the Pretorian, Banshees and Geth Primes all striking at the same time and wondered how her mother could even survive more than five seconds with all the concentration of enemies in front of them both.

"Trowin' a grenade!" she said, the three biotics bubbles all falling on the ground to provide loud detonation and barely –or so it seemed- to touch any of the enemies around. "Dammit!"

"Hey what's going here,' Elia said as she strode out of her room with an arched brow.

"Not now Elia! Mum is trying to achieve the impossible with Mark, sit down and shush!" Fang frowned as her teeth began to grit together in annoyance, reloading her rifle before trying to escape this location that was nothing but a death trap.

"Mark, I'm going inside the temple this is too hot!"

" _Roger that Commander!"_ the brunette smiled and felt her two daughters slowly and discreetly coming next to her to look at the one screen, trying to keep her entire focus on the video game whilst taking out a few cannibals and collectors on her way there. _"Fuck I forgot Cerberus existed in that game! So I'm facing a beautiful Atlas!"_

"Missile Launcher Mark! Blow his head out!" Indeed, the minute Mark warned about Cerberus, Fang could already spot the nemesis and phantoms coming her way, quickly throwing her grenades all around her to make them vanish from her position before shooting in every possible direction to defend herself however she could. "Fuck, I need stupid Ammo!"

" _I spotted some near the Monument! Go, go, I'll cover you!"_

"Thanks!"

With her controller firmly grasped in her hand, Fang's character began to rush towards the outside of the building, taking a few bullets on her way whilst a dragoon was stumbling in front of her face. She frowned and performed a Melee attack in his stupid face a few times before rushing back towards the place faster than the speed of light.

"Okay, got some! How many are left,' Fang asked as the pressure in her heart dramatically increased.

" _I'd say five to ten, but it's the big ones!"_

"Mum, on your right! Look on your right!"

Fang heard, quickly turning her character in that position to stare at the two Atlas's slowly coming her way. She looked on the left of the screen nodding inwardly to herself since she still had two Missiles Launcher Ammo and didn't hesitate to grab the weapon from her back before aiming carefully, and shooting. She observed the first one exploding without any trouble while the second one still had 6 bars of life, quickly grabbing the shotgun back from her belt to empty an entire magazine inside the robot's stupid ugly face.

"Die, die!"

"Yeah!" Rhea and Elia both clapped their hands in pleasure at the sight of the last Atlas exploding in front of their mum's character, proud of the achievement the woman had managed to achieve alone. "You rock—No!" Fang opened wide eyes. She stood up from the sofa with her right hand above her mouth, watching the phantom stabbing her from behind like a coward before falling on the ground defeated, unable to respawn thanks to first aid kits. "Nooo!"

" _Shit! I'm surrounded! I'm not going to make it!"_ Fang froze, looking at the sole person alive in the middle of the temple whilst dragoons and phantoms were surrounding his position.

" _Come on Dad!"_

" _Dammit! It's too much!"_ she could feel the tension rushing inside her body, standing still in front of the plasma TV.

"You can make it! You can make it!" The human character was bouncing in every direction, avoiding direct fire however he could whilst throwing grenades behind him. "Take the Missile Launcher!" She observed the man obeying before shooting behind him, everyone standing still in front of the TV. "Is it done? Is it over?"

" _No, there's still one….here!"_ Fang looked at the indication on her screen pointing to the last enemy alive, flinching at the sight of a scion, vicious, disgusting and terribly strong creatures only being able to be slain with at least two people. _"Okay, this is going to be tough."_

"Don't rush into it Mark, we need this victory!"

And it started. She observed every bullet reaching the Collector standing a little further away, shooting his own bullets in Mark's direction through his arm. She frowned and drew her lip between her teeth, her heart thumping inside her chest with the amount of stress she was currently feeling because of the game, her eyes growing eve, wider and wider every second of fighting until it was finally over. She raised her fist in the air while her two girls were bouncing from the Sofa to cheer.

"What a great time to be alive!"

" _Dad! You rock! This was brilliant!"_

" _Ladies I am exhausted! But this isn't over! Round 8, everyone needs to be at their best!"_

"Acknowledge!" Fang said while sitting back down on the couch, Rhea rushing on the other side to go back to her remote controller as the round begun. "Okay, everyone, good freakin' luck."

"We can do this!" Fang winked in her daughter's direction as the first shootings were heard, the two heads focusing their attention back to their screen while Elia was looking back and forth at both of them with a grin on her face and a fast beating heart.

* * *

Lightning was feeling incredibly stressed out. She was going back and forth inside the kitchen, checking on the appetizers slowly warming up in her oven while the chicken was casually cooking inside a saucepan, the smell invading the entire house.

She didn't know what was the most stressful for her between the fact to invite Alex in her home, or to know that Serah is going to be impossible the entire evening since the only word she seemed to have on the tip of her tongue was 'Fang' over and over again. _It's like she's doing it on purpose!_ Lightning scratched her forehead and sighed loudly as she grabbed her glass of wine back from the counter, slowly heading herself towards the living room to look at the table she had already put in place and stared at the three glasses standing on the coffee table in front of the TV. She needed everything to be perfect, and right now, everything looked perfect.

She smiled inwardly to herself as a small knock on the door resonated in the living room, quickly recognizing her sister's discretion and made her way towards the door to open it, smiling at the sight of the shorter pink-haired girl standing in front of her with a smile.

"Hey Light! First one here?"

"Yes, I told Alex to be there at 7:30 so you and I could have a chat before."

As she observed Serah's brow arching on her forehead, Lightning couldn't help but to smile at the desired effect. If there was something she liked, it was to make her sister worry about the conversation she might have with her, the fact to see her face quickly being deformed by apprehension and worriedness in the blink of an eye.

"What about sis?"

"About you trying to ruin the dinner tonight." She said as she started to walk away and back towards the living room, sharply turning back around to look at her sister concerned. "So, what have you planned tonight?"

"Wha—? I don't know what you're talking about, Light" Serah lied, looking straight back at her sister with a slightly shocked face.

"Serah, I have a daughter who is a professional actress; I lied my way through my entire twenties, I know when I'm being lied to."

Lightning arched a brow while her sister was starting to mumble something she couldn't quite understand but knew she had hit the right spot. She knew Serah had been onto something ever since she had talked about her first date with Alex and had organized this dinner, so her sister could actually see that Fang or not, Alex was a delight.

"So, Serah… What's your plan?"

"It's nothing! I swear Light! I'm not going to do anything!" The two pink-haired girl exchanged a long eye contact, trying to decrypt each other carefully to see who might be in a defensive position, Lightning slightly frowning in the end as she brought her glass to her lips. "I swear."

"Very well. I think I have no other choice than to believe you."

The Doctor sighed, sharply going back inside the kitchen to check on her appetizers and casting a glance towards the clock on the wall. _7:14, still have fifteen minutes_.

"So things you have to know, Serah. Alexandra is British, she was born in London. She's thirty-five. She was married once. No kids, her parent's both still live in London."

"British?" Serah asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She knew that the British accent was actually the best there was, being sensual and so smooth but also meant an incredible danger. _Darn_ she thought as she watched Lightning grabbing the appetizers from the oven to place them on the hotplates.

"Yes, Serah. She's British." Lightning responded with furrowed brows as she watched her sister making her way towards the living room to look at the view.

"How are the girls doing?"

"Good. We're keeping an eye on them. They pout, but they work. Elia has straight A's, Rhea managed to get an A-, so it's good news." Serah grinned as Lightning poured her glass with Red Wine but quickly nibbled on her lip.

She was afraid that she might actually like this woman, meaning she would betray Fang in the most horrible way possible. She was her agent and couldn't possibly screw this up.

"Okay, that's great. And Rhea, still smoking?"

"Yes. I saw her in front of her high-school on Thursday." Lightning answered as she made her way back towards the kitchen to grab the bottle of Champagne from the fridge in order to place it in the ice-bucket in the middle of the table. "She's kind of stupid since she knows I'm driving in front of it to go to work. And my car is pretty easy to spot…"

"Maybe she doesn't want to hide, now that you know? See what I mean?"

With a quick bob of the head, Lightning smiled, thinking that she had done the exact same when her own mother had learned about the fact that she was smoking before shifting her attention towards the door at a few knocks. She took a deep breath, placing her glass back in the kitchen and swiftly made her way towards the door to reveal the redheaded British woman grinning and holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Hi Lightning, how are you?" Lightning smiled cheerfully, placing a kiss on the girl's lips before letting her go inside the house.

"I'm great. What about you Alex?"

"Perfect. This is for you." She watched the flowers going in her direction, a mix of roses, lily's, tulips and leaves, casually grabbing the bouquet with a grin on her lips as she looked at the woman again.

"Thank you Alex. You shouldn't have."

The woman chuckled, Lightning leading them both back inside the living room to present her date to her sister, the shorter pinky swallowing hole at the sight of the tall redhead walking and smiling in her direction.

"Alex, this is my sister, Serah. Serah, this is Alex."

The taller pink-haired girl smiled in her sister's direction before making her way towards the kitchen to grab a vase in order to place the bouquet inside, her smile staying printed on her lips. She glanced in her sister's direction talking with Alex and sighed in relief as the two girls had managed to find a topic to talk about before making her way back inside the living room with the vase that she placed on the dining table.

"You didn't tell me Alex was a Journalist!"

"I know I didn't tell you" Lightning answered with a quick wink as she stepped towards the two women, inviting them to sit down while she was handling the bottle of Champagne.

"And you Serah, what are you doing for a living?"

"Me? I'm a teacher for the 3rd grade."

"Oh that's brilliant! You really must love children."

"I do, I love them." The pink-haired girl chuckled as she handed the two glasses to her guests before sitting down next to Alex with a small smile drawn on her lips. "How long have you lived in the US, Alex?"

"It's been six years now. I was working on the national TV channel in London and was promoted here. I handle a section in the LA newspaper and am live from 9AM to 2PM." _Dammit, why is she cool?!_ Serah asked herself with a pinched mouth as she brought the glass to her lips to hide her facial expression. _You're not making this easy Lightning, a British, gorgeous, polite and apparently nice girl? Who brought you flowers? Why is the world against me?!_

Lightning arched a brow at her sister's behavior, wondering what was currently going on inside that brain of hers but focused her attention back on Alex, the girl placing a hand on her knee to brush it with her fingernails.

"So, Serah. Light told me you also had a child? Daniel is that right?"

"Yes! He's seven years old. And I'm married to Snow."

"That's great!" Alex answered with an enthusiastic tone as her fingers intertwined with Lightning's, Serah narrowing her eyes to look at the contact performed in front of her very eyes. _She's invading your space Lightning!_

Serah licked her teeth discreetly but could feel the insistent stare of her sister, locking eyes with her to observe the glare she was throwing at her for her childish behavior and quickly cleared her throat to think about something else. "Have you seen Light's two girls?"

Silence. Lightning slightly opened her mouth, feeling the discomfort settling between the three persons sitting in the room while Serah was slowly wincing, thinking about the wrath she would have to go through after the dinner for asking such a sensitive issue. It was obvious that Lightning hadn't planned on presenting her two girls to her new companion and wasn't even sure that the subject had been discussed between the two of them.

"I haven't actually, but I think that considering the rather early divorce, that Lightning prefers to keep them in the dark a while longer, don't you Light?"

"Yes. I know we haven't talked about this before but—."

"Lightning it's fine. I perfectly understand. You need to be ready and so do they. I will wait how long you need me to." _Fuck! And now she's comprehensive! This is a nightmare, a nightmare… Dammit. What am I going to do? I don't want Alex in the family pictures for the rest of my life!_

But sadly, as the rest of the evening was going surprisingly well, Serah couldn't help but admit that Alexandra was a lovely woman full of life and wit, and that she was evidently making her sister happy. So as they both left the house and greeted each other goodbye, Serah automatically called her best friend to tell her everything there was to know about the dinner-date she had just been to.

" _Serah, finally I—."_

"Vanille! I don't know what to do! Alex is great, she's nice, smart! She's perfect for Lightning!"

" _Alright… She's really all things?"_

"Yes. I want to tear my head out, I laughed the entire time, it's awful."

" _Okay. But Serah, you're forgetting one thing."_

The pinky arched a brow as she took a turn to the right, drumming her fingernails on the wheel in anguish before a grin reached her lips as her best friend spoke up again.

" _You're forgetting that this Alex, is not Fang."_


	7. Put the gun down

They were all ready. Ready for this day, this day that was going to be horrible for some while a real pleasure for others, the opinions sifting from one person to another for this particular matter. On the pros were Rhea, Serah, Vanille and Hope, the four-people locked and loaded for the long day they were going to spend while the cons was formed with Lightning, Fang, Snow, Elia and Daniel.

You could see on the con's team that every face was showing the exact same emotion: annoyance. Lightning had actually the worst expression, her arms firmly folded across her chest, a foot tapping on the ground while Rhea was bouncing in every possible direction trying to find the perfect gift she wanted for her Mom.

"Rhea, we've been in this store for god knows how long, please, please move!"

But Mom, I need to think a lot about it! I don't want to make a mistake."

Lightning face palmed herself, looking in Elia's direction with furrowed brows at the sight of the girl slowly coming her way with a MacBook Pro, the grin on her face almost pleading her to buy her this precise gift for Christmas.

"Elia…Really? Don't you have a laptop already?"

"I do, but it's broken mom…"

 _Is that right?_ The pink-haired girl unfolded her arms and grabbed the box to look at the price and quickly rolled up her head to glance at the ceiling in defeat. _1499$. Meaning Rhea will want something with the same value… Jesus Christ._

"Fine."

"Yay! Thanks mom!" Lightning nodded and took a deep and loud breath to express her slight anger manly pointed towards her older daughter since it had taken less than two minutes for Elia to find something.

They were now both looking at Rhea shaking like a leaf since she couldn't possibly find a single present for herself.

"Rhea, hurry up! We need to find Mum then, so we can pick our presents with her."

"I know Elia! But I'm—I'm panicking!"

"Rhea" said Lightning as she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder "Just think about what you need okay? Clothes, electronics…"

"I know!" Lightning flinched roughly, casting a look over her shoulder to look at Elia grinning behind her and quickly followed her older daughter towards the other end of the store. _Electronics, of course…_ She sat down on a chair near the computers while Rhea was bouncing back towards her. "What's the line I cannot cross?"

"Fifteen hundred dollars." Rhea arched a brow, waiting for the real answer instead of a lousy joke while Lightning was keeping the eye-contact with a deadpan face. "One thousand and five hundred dollars?" she said again, wondering if her daughter had actually understood her first answer.

"You're kidding right?"

"No, your sister wanted the MacBook Pro."

"Oh my god! Sweet! I'll be right back!" Lightning nodded, looking at her daughter picking up a beats headset, a stereo and a the complete series of Gossip Girl, Nip tuck and True Blood with a grin on her face. "Okay, I counted, it should be around 1400$."

"Let's check then" said Lightning as she took the wireless headset to look at the price. "Okay, that's 499$. The Stereo is 699$...and the three TV shows for a total of 239$. You were right, 1437$." Lightning turned her phone towards her daughter's face and watched her clapping her hand together before making her way towards the checkout counter, Elia already waiting in the long line for at least five minutes. "What a nightmare, I hate shopping for Christmas."

"Why? It's so cool!" – "For you maybe! It's always crammed, people are rude and plus, I have two daughters with very, _very_ expensive tastes." She looked at her two daughters smiling from ear to ear, their white teeth appearing behind their lips while Lightning was shaking her head from left to right in amusement. "In any case. I still have to find something for Serah…and Fang."

"You're buying Mum a present?" asked Rhea with goggling eyes.

"Well yes, we're spending Christmas together this year, you didn't know?" Elia and Rhea gawked. They hadn't spent Christmas with both their mothers in the same room ever since the divorce. "Okay you didn't know. Serah asked us if we minded doing it together this year, and it didn't see any harm in it. Your mum neither, so yeah." Pause. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"That's awesome mom! That's so cool! You're getting along again! Thanks to—." – "Say Thanks to me Rhea and you can place the stereo back where you found it." Rhea zipped her mouth back, noticing that her Mom was still angry about the fact she had drank underage and simply looked at the boxes in her hands while Lightning was carrying the Stereo painfully. "Alright. What can I get your Mum?"

"You know her better than we probably do Mom, so we can't help you with that." Lightning narrowed her eyes to fix her gaze upon Elia, slowly bobbing her head while thinking about anything Fang might actually like. _She likes music… She always loved music. She had a set of drums before. Maybe I could get her that. Drums…need to check a store._

"Is she still playing the drums?"

"She used to, but it broke a few months ago. You're going to get her a set of drums?"

"I don't know, I'm still thinking about it…" Lightning placed her hand in her hair, combing them softly and slowly moving towards the counter to finally place the extremely heavy stereo on the platform, the salesman giving her a sad smile at the sight of all the things landing next to the stereo.

She listened to the beeping sounds and watched the price rising, and rising, her frown getting heavier as the items were being scanned until the final price appeared in front of her, a sigh leaving her throat within the second. "It will be a total of 2936,54$ Ma'am."

The credit card in hand, Lightning patiently waited to input her code inside the machine before grabbing it back to watch her daughters beaming behind her with their bags in hand, quickly leaving the store to run away from the store who could bankrupt her if she decided to stay any longer here. _Okay…_ "Well that's done. And I've had enough actually so I'm going to head home. So I'll see you two tonight? And then tomorrow at Mum's right?"

"Yep! I'll see you later mom!"

"Love you!" Lightning smiled as she waved at the two girls quickly going towards the other end of the store to go back with Fang so she could take them back to her place whilst she was casually stepping out of the mall.

She went down the stairs with a faint smile, casting quick looks over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't followed by Fang and her two daughters as she pushed the front door to be back on the street, the small December breeze brushing the tip of her nose and twirling her hair above her head to provide a feeling she couldn't even begin to describe.

She had always loved that feeling. There something she couldn't even begin to describe when she was walking outside, watching the sun shining on the different building without the warmth being too unbearable. She wasn't sweating, her hands weren't moist, and her eyebrows weren't wet and since these things were everything that Lightning dreaded, she was feeling _happy_.

She crossed the different streets of the city, smoked two cigarettes and after a walk of twenty-five minutes in her high-heels, she was finally where she wanted to be in the first place: to the Beach.

She looked at her horizons, watching the waves crashing on the shore while children were playing in the sand, building castles and digging their parent's in the hole they had dug and couldn't help but to feel that little bit of happiness she had in her heart vanish in a few seconds at some of her own memories, dating from when Rhea and Elia were respectively 6 and 4.

Indeed, the girls have always loved to spend time at the beach when they were young, always wanting to play, to swim or to dive so they could annoy each other, but what they had loved the most was to hop on a little inflatable boat that Fang would supervise as the Captain. She smiled at the thought and let herself be drawn to those memories that had been part of her life, and would always a part of herself.

" _Mum you have to blow in the bag! We can't go on the sea like this!" Lightning snickered at the face Fang was giving Rhea since blowing in the boat would not only kill her from lack of oxygen but would also last for hours. So, as Lightning pulled the pump from the bag to hand it to her wife, the blondie girl opened wide and shiny eyes to express her amazement in front of the beautiful invention. "We never do that for our animal's mom!"_

" _I know, but now that we have that, we will! Like that it will go even faster!" Rhea clapped her hands together and began to circle around her mum who was painfully placing the tip of the tube inside the boat to finally blow up the boat while Elia was cheerfully playing on the sand with her pink-sunglasses on top of her nose and a small shovel inside her hand. "Elia, what are you doing?"_

" _I'm building a castle mommy!" the girl answered with a grin on her lips, frowning heavily as Lightning tried to pull the small t-shirt back on her stomach so she wouldn't get a sunburn. "Mommy I don't want that, it's not pretty!"_

" _That's okay sweetie, it's for your safety, not fashion."_

" _But fashion is better mommy!" she heard from behind, looking at her older daughter with a small and amused headshake. She glanced in Fang's direction, observing the tanned woman pressing on the pump with her right foot over and over again while the boat was slowly filling itself with air and smiled at her beautiful sight. She had been with her for ten years and still, Fang was everything she wanted. And if she had to be honest with herself, the Australian bikini with her shorts and that tanned skin were slightly arousing, especially since her legs were amazingly long and thin._

" _Sunshine, stop starin'." Lightning lifted her head up and gave her wife an embarrassed smile while Serah and Snow were coming back from the sea. She smiled at her sister radiantly but froze at the sight of Snow, only being able to give him an arched brow before focusing her attention back on Elia who hadn't moved a single muscle. She looked at the t-shirt and shook her head in despair, quickly noticing that the girl had tried to take it off her body again and quickly pulled it back towards her legs._

" _No! I don't want that mommy! Mummy tell her!" Fang chuckled at the sight of Elia folding her arms across her chest angrily while desperately trying to get at least her mum on her side before looking at her wife arching her brow at the lack of response. "Mummy!"_

" _I—Uh… This is between ya two, I'm handlin' the boat yeah honey?" Lightning nodded and shifted her attention back to Elia, the little brunette girl now pouting with her shovel still in hand while Rhea was giggling like a mix behind her back._

" _Rhea, don't start or you'll wear one too." As expected, the blondie quickly shut her mouth back and ducked her head to try and hide the smile she had by forming tears inside her eyes, Lightning shaking her head in despair at the sight of her actress performing one of her favorite acts._

" _Hey guys, what's up?" asked Serah as she laid down on her towel, glancing at the four girls in front of her._

" _Let's see, Elia doesn't want to wear the t-shirt, Rhea is mocking her and Fang is blowing up the boat while I'm doing nothing. So it's perfect!" Lightning said with a grin as she turned around to look at her sister smiling in amusement. She quickly went towards Fang to look at the boat getting bigger and bigger and grabbed the paddles from the bag with a smile. "How are we doing this? Who's the boat Captain?"_

" _Well…since I'm the one who sweated my… off, I'm the Captain." – "And what if I want to be Captain?" Lightning folded her arms across her chest as Fang took a step back to look at the pinky with an arched brow, the two women frowning in amusement at both their sights before Fang squatted to close the plastic back on top of the hole. And then, Lightning didn't understand. All she saw was the tanned woman grabbing the boat and the paddles from her hand before rushing towards the see in a sadistic laughter, her mouth opening wide at the betrayal while Rhea and Elia were both running towards Fang raising her fist in victory._

" _I'm the Captain!" she yelled with a grin on her lips while Lightning was putting her sunglasses back on the tip of her nose before she started to jog in her wife's direction, trying to think of a scheme she might do to drown her wife once and for all for the low move she had made. But as she came closer, the two girls already in the boat and Fang pushing it a little further away, Lightning couldn't help but to smile wide at their sight, the two sisters looking absolutely pleased. "Mad at me?" Fang asked as Lightning was coming closer to her._

" _No, I couldn't be mad at you Fang, you know that." A kiss followed their interaction while Rhea and Elia were both giggling inside the both, Fang's hand firmly grasping the plastic so it wouldn't go away before they both focused their attention on the two girls. "Alright, I'm swimming next to you then, how's that sound?"_

" _Okay! But then mummy can swim and you can be the Captain! So like that you're both Captains!" Fang smiled as she sat down on the boat, grabbing the paddles from Rhea while Lightning was walking further away to get the water to her breasts before winking in the three girl's direction. "So what do you say mommy?"_

" _I say that's a great idea sweetie." – "Yep, it is." As the boat began to move, Lightning did as she had told and swum next to her family with the sun reaching her face and happiness filling her heart._

With a loud sigh, Lightning ducked her head to stare at the sand under her heels, slightly shaking her head from left to right in pain before feeling a soft hand on her shoulder. She sharply turned around and smiled at the sight of her date in front of her, quickly placing a kiss on her lips to greet her for the first time in a few days before grabbing her hand to march towards the bar on the beach with a smile on her lips.

"Are you okay? You seemed deeply focused on the sea" the redhead said with a small smile as they both sat down at a table, Lightning already waving at a waiter to come take their orders as soon as possible.

"I'm fine, just thinking. Don't worry, nothing important though" Lightning answered with a pinched smile, trying to hide her true feelings however she could by placing another soft kiss on the girl's lips before looking at the waiter. "I'll have a Mojito, Alex, if you never had one here, I will force you."

"Ha! Alright then, but this better be good!"

"Trust me, it will."

* * *

"Hey Mum, where do you want to go now?" Rhea said as she stumbled out of the mall with a bright smile, quickly grabbing her sunglasses from her bag to place them back on her nose at the sun shining more than she would've thought.

"Hm, I don't know…Do ya want to go have a drink? Well a drink for me and coke for ya of course." The blondie pinched her lips in annoyance, since a cold beer would've been perfect under the dazzling sun but didn't bother to argue or even to ask before she started walking on Fang's right side, Elia quickly bouncing towards her left. "Alright, so your mom bought ya nice presents?"

"Yep! And you too!"

"Well it's easy when _ya_ are the ones pickin' up the gifts…" Fang said with a smile, picturing the time where buying them presents was usually cheap and would always please them. "Do ya remember when ya desperately wanted that doll? It was porcelain I think."

"Oh god yeah!" Elia answered as she face palmed herself, now wondering how she could've ever wanted something looking so ugly and frankly scary as she was casually crossing the street with her bags in her hands, slowly reaching the car on the other side of the rode. "Isn't that…mom's car?"

Rhea looked on the other side of the road, quickly spotting the black SUV with the two back tainted windows, her eyebrow arching drastically at its sight. "That's weird, didn't she say she was going home?"

"Maybe she needed to buy something else first?"

"Maybe…"

"Hey! Stop snoopin' around and get in the car, I know where we can go to have a drink." Fang winked in their daughter's direction and opened the door of the car to step behind the wheel, casting one last glance in the SUV's direction with a slight frown, her spine slowly starting to ache her in worriedness. _Let it go Fang_ , she remembered her sister telling her a few days ago as she had been talking about Lightning. _You have to let her go, Fang. This is getting dangerous for you. You need to find someone else. You need to, you need to, you need to…_ But what was she supposed to do, when she didn't want to move on?

A sigh left her mouth again as Rhea turned the radio on, listening to the channel she was working on, basically playing the same music that during the morning but managed to let herself be dragged by the rhythm as her head started to bounce and the windows turned opened. "I walked across, an empty land…" she began to sing, quickly followed by Rhea sitting next to her while Elia was humming and closing her eyes in pleasure. "Is this the place that I've been dreamin' ooof?"

"Oh sympathy! Where have you gone?"

"And if ya have a minute why don't we go? Talk about somewhere only we know?"

"This could be the end of everythin', so why don't we go, somewhere only we know?" Fang and Rhea looked at each other with small and to be fair, broken smiles as the car was slowly driving towards the Beach she had always loved so much.

"Where are you taking us Mum?"

"There's a bar at the Beach, it's awesome. It's really, really neat, the view is splendid." After a turn on the right to go towards the parking lot near the beach, Fang didn't take a long time to spot a parking place, her 'huntresses' eyes, as Lightning had sometime said proving to be extremely effective in that matter. "Okay! Let's go ladies. Leave the bags in the car ya don't need them!" she said as she spotted rhea going towards the trunk, taking a small step back with a pout. "Ya know ya won't be able to use anythin' for at least two more weeks, yeah?"

"I know, it's even worse when you're saying it!" Fang sneered proudly as she locked the car back and swiftly made her way towards the small path leading to the beach, her shoes quickly landing in her hands to feel the sand between her fingertips and listening to her two girls giggling like children behind her. "Enjoying yourself Mum?"

"Like ya can't imagine! I'm even goin' to go to the water!" with that said, Fang began to jog cheerfully towards the water, knowing precisely that both girls would soon reach her and wasn't surprised to receive a spurt of water on her white shorts and legs, sharply turning back around to look at the culprit. "Of course it's ya" she said with a raised finger, smirking at the sight of Elia's face being deformed by fear.

What Fang simply did actually, was to place her hand in the water to throw an amazing amount in her daughter's face before running for her life. "Ya won't catch me honey!"

"That's what you think mum!" Fang snickered again, water splashing on her sides as she was being chased by Elia before she stopped altogether to look at Rhea standing a little further away on the sand, her knuckles facing the sun to keep the sun away from her eyes to look deeply at something further away. She arched a brow and pointed at her younger daughter, so she would stop. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. Your sister is standin' there like a freaking weepin' angel and it's kinda scarrin' me." Fang said as she was coming towards the blondie whose face was quickly distorted by a state of shock, anger and pain. "Rhea? What's goin' on?"

She didn't speak. She couldn't speak, actually. She was simply looking, looking at the mass of pink-hair moving in a burst of laughter while the other woman, a redhead looking more stupid than anything else was placing her hand on her shoulder. She didn't understand. How could she? She would've never thought that her mother, her model would betray her entire family in such a disgusting way. It's only when she saw the two different lips brushing one another that she gasped in surprise, her eyes opening wide and her jaw clenching in rage. "Rhea?"

She didn't care. She just started walking towards the 'perfect bar' slowly turning into a fucking living hell. She could feel her blood boiling, her heart racing. Her mind was unable to control her moves anymore, and she knew that what was going to happen would probably be something she would regret her entire life. _How can she? How the fuck can she do that?! And lying! Fuck!_ She started to walk faster, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to look at her mum and Elia slightly opening their mouth before Fang began to run. _Let me do this Mum! I need to protect you! This isn't right! This shouldn't be happening! She betrayed everyone!_

The bar was only a few feet away. She could listen to her mum calling her name to try and stop her, but it was too late now. It was all but too late, so she sprinted. It was only when two feet were separating them that Rhea opened her mouth.

"Mom?!"

She watched her mother lifting her head up from her drink to make her jaw crash on the ground miserably, her eyes opening wide at the unexpected sight.

"Rhea?" she said while standing up from the chair. "What—what are you doing here?"

"I was going to have a drink with mum! We were happily walking on the beach when I—when I saw _you_!"

She was so angry. She wanted to push the woman sitting at the table, to push her so she would fall and possibly break her neck on the wooden surface but simply looked over her shoulder again to look at her Mum standing a little further away with Elia, her fingernails scratching her forehead in anguish. But she could see the fake smile filled with pain. And this was all because of _her_.

"I can see you're having a nice time! And here I thought you were home… You're such a liar!"

"Rhea, watch your tone right now. This is my private life, I'm allowed to do whatever I want without your approval."

"How can you even say that?" Rhea said while tears were slowly invading her eyes. "This isn't right! Nothing is right! You're fucking selfish!"

"Rhea! Calm down, now!"

Fang turned her attention to her daughter cursing loudly in the middle of the bar and causing a scene. She took her courage in both her hands along with a deep breath and slowly made her way towards the bar to grab her daughter's wrist to get her the hell away from there.

"Rhea? Let's go yeah?"

"No! No! Why aren't you saying anything Mum? You're supposed to be on the fucking chair! Not her!" Rhea brutally said while pointing at the redheaded trying to disappear into the shadows. "She fucking betrayed you! Because she's a fucking bitch!"

Lightning flinched at the word she had heard too many times, a word she hated. She looked at her daughter with round eyes and didn't control the back of her hand slapping her entire left cheek. "Never say that again Rhea. Am I being clear?"

"Fuck you! I hate you! You ruined everything! I never want to see you again! Never!" she said as she stormed off the platform to go further away, ignoring her sister's pleading eyes and simply placing a hand on her burning cheek to ease the pain. She eventually sat down in a small path, bringing her knees closer to her chest to release a mountain of tears, sobbing loudly on the ground while she could still hear her mother talking from afar.

"Take care of her Fang, I don't have time to deal with her pleadings and childish behavior! And you better make sure she gets reprimanded for what she said! Take her to _your_ place, she will not be allowed to step a single foot in the house until she apologized! Clear?"

"Yep. I'm sorry…for that. Have a nice evenin'" Fang said as she slowly moved away with a heavy brow slanted in anger.

She looked at Elia with dark eyes and walked faster on the sand, following the sobbing sounds coming from somewhere near her until she finally stumbled onto the blondie crying her every tear in agony.

"Rhea; come on. We're takin' your sister back to your mom's and you're comin' wimme."

"Fine." The blondie said as she painfully stood up from the sand, brushing her nose and cheeks from the tears she had spread and winced at the contact of her hand on her cheek. "Fucking ring! Fucking, stupid ring!"

"Rhea! Stop it. We'll talk about this later. Let's just go." Fang said as she sharply turned around with anger deforming her face.

She looked at her daughter a few more seconds before rubbing her face with the palm of her hands and simply brought the girl in her arms to hold her tightly before looking at Elia turning around to watch the bar from afar, a shrug of defeat quickly making her entire body shake before they all went towards the car in silence, a heavy and asphyxiating silent.


	8. Is it hard?

Lightning was driving like an insane person. She was angry, disappointed and ashamed, ashamed of the obnoxious scene her daughter had made willingly in the middle of a bar in front of a girl she actually liked. Alex had been understanding, but since the pinky had kept her mind focused on the fact that Rhea had used the B word to refer to _her_ , their date had been cut short for Lightning to go back to her house in order to cool off until further notice.

"Fuck Rhea! Fuck!" she yelled as she slammed her wheel at the red light, causing a few people to turn their attention on the black SUV and the crimson red pink-haired girl before focusing their attention back in front of them at the glares they were receiving. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she yelled again while tears of rage were rolling down on her cheeks.

And Fang. Fang had seen her. Everything was taking a terrible turn, and Lightning knew that this situation would take a long time to unlock. "And Christmas in two weeks. Shit!"

She didn't spot the STOP sign on the right side of the road, furiously pressing on the pedal to get home as soon as possible, ignoring the horns and people insulting her in every direction before she finally spotted her house in the distance.

She parked in front of it but stayed behind the wheel a few more seconds, her body shaking up and down with the tears she couldn't hold anymore. _How did we get here? How is any of this possible? If only…if only we hadn't lost you_ she thought while shaking her head from left to right in pain, a faintish smile appearing on her lips at the brutality of the situation. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the sobs down before she could finally go inside the lighted house.

It took five more minutes for Lightning to finally calm down and get down from her high horses and was now finally placing the keys inside the lock to enter her house. At first, all she could hear was the calm. The calm atmosphere, the fresh scent of clean and happiness, and as she slowly walked inside the hallway, placing her coat on the hanger and purse on the floor, she could now distinguish to a sniffing sound coming from the living room. _Elia…_

She walked slowly, taking her heels of her feet to stop the sound on the tiles and tilted her head to look at the little brown head shaking up and down. _Elia, no._ "Elia?" she asked in a whisper.

"Mom? Can you—sit with—." Lightning closed her eyes in agony but sharply opened them back to go next to her younger daughter, watching the used Kleenex on the table and red cheeks of her daughter. She sat down and brought her closer in her arms to hold her tightly, the girl sobbing loudly in her shoulder. "Why—is everything—so wrong mom?"

"I don't know sweetie" Lightning answered, holding the tears inside her throat while looking straight ahead of her. "I don't know…" she repeated slowly as her voice was breaking down. _Don't cry, don't cry_ she inwardly begged to herself, not wanting her own daughter to see her weaknesses.

"I love you—mom." She smiled, bringing her daughter closer in her arm to place a kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you too Elia. So much."

"Are you—mad at Rhea mom? She loves you—too you know. She's just…She's dreaming." With an arched brow, Lightning placed her head on top of Elia's before closing her eyes. "She thinks that you and mum—can be together again. But I know—you weren't getting along. Some things can't be—fixed."

"I know sweetie…"

"Mom? What happened between you and mum? You were…you were so in love. How did it all go away?" Lightning opened one eye, looking at the black TV screen in front of her eyes with pain. Indeed, no one knew the real reason of why Fang and her had hit the rocks so brutally. Only they knew, and they had promised each other to never say it to anyone.

"We were just fighting a lot more sweetie. And then, one fight turned into another…and then another. We tried to fix things, but it only made things worse" Lightning said while keeping a calm tone to make her lie believable. "And for Rhea, I am mad. She had no right to call me like this. She overstepped a line she shouldn't have crossed." Lightning said with a sharp tone, still picturing her daughter's blue eyes looking at her with the disdain, the mouth slowly moving to say the forbidden word. _Fucking bitch_ she replayed in her mind. "She crossed a line" she repeated in a whisper.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?" – "The woman…who is she to you?" After a long deep breath, Lightning explaining to her daughter who Alex was, and how they had met. "Do you like her? No. Does she make you happy mom?"

After a few seconds of silence, Lightning closed her eyes back, her hand still brushing her daughter's shoulder gently. "Yes. She does."

"Then that's all that matters."

######

Rhea was sitting at the table in front of her mum, unable to speak nor to look at her in the eye. She was so outraged, so frustrated. And she was also hurting, hurting because of her cheekbone since the ring had crashed against it in her mother's fury. _Mother, yeah. More like a fucking disappointment_.

She sighed heavily, looking at her hands placed in front of her face while Fang was looking at her with a frown. "Alright. I need to smoke" she said as she stood up from the chair to go back inside the kitchen, quickly grabbing the ashtray and packet of cigarettes from the drawers before coming back to the table with an arched brow at the sight of Rhea looking at the packet with envy. "Once. Because it's a…special event."

Rhea smiled but quickly stopped as her mother raised her hand in the air. "This doesn't make me the best mum in the world or whatever, yeah?"

"Yes Mum." The blondie looked at the cigarette being handed to her and grabbed it with a shaky hand to place it between her lips, then grabbing the lighter from the table to watch the flame in front of her eyes. "I'm not apologizing to her."

"Rhea…"

"No! She doesn't deserve it! She should be with you!"

"Why do ya think that?"

"Because…" she began to say as her voice started to break. "Because it's you! Lightning and Fang, not Lightning and redheaded bitch!"

"Stop callin' everyone a bitch Rhea, we all saw how it ended."

"She deserved it" Rhea said before taking a drag from her cigarette. She narrowed her look to stare at the ashtray while Fang was sitting speechless in front of her daughter, her tone, attitude and face reminding her severely of Lightning when she was angry.

"Ya don't mean that Rhea. Your mother has the right to date who she wants to date."

"No! I won't accept it Mum! It's not right! And she looked stupid. You're not stupid." Another drag followed her words, the cigarette quickly consuming itself in front of Fang's amazed gaze. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help but to smile in her daughter's direction for defending her that way. "I thought you might be together again! With the dinner and everything. But she was already with that…tramp."

"Rhea. Your mother _has_ the _right_ to date whoever she wants. She moved on, I'm happy for her."

"I know you're lying mum. I don't believe you." Fang sighed discreetly through her nose, wondering why Rhea had to be so stubborn about absolutely everything as she watched the girl crashing her cigarette inside the ashtray. "Mom betrayed you. I hate her. I _hate_ her."

Rhea sighed heavily and buried her face in the palm of her hands, chewing on her lip the next second as grief started to overwhelm her quicker than she had planned. She closed her eyes, holding the tears inside her blue eyes. "Mum? Why did you and mom get a divorce? I can't be just because you were fighting, it's ridiculous. Everyone keeps saying it's because of that but I don't believe that."

 _Ya are as smart as a whip aren't ya Rhea? Just like your mom_ Fang thought as she grabbed another cigarette from her packet, shaking her head at the sight of Rhea's pleading look. "Your mom and I got a divorce because we were fightin' too much Rhea, it's the truth. But there's a reason behind it." she observed her daughter lifting her head up, placing her blonde hair away from her face to attach them in a pony-tail , ready to listen to the real reason of her mothers divorce. "We… uh, I don't even know where to begin."

"Mum, if you don't want to tell me it's okay. Don't force yourself."

"No. Ya are old enough now, ya deserve to know."

Rhea smiled. And listened. But as her mother was telling her the story, she had wished she had never known. Her smiled vanished. And she suddenly understood.

######

 _It had started a few minutes ago. It was a pain she had never known before, it was something strange and grabbing her by the gut. It was something dark and unexplainable. It was something scarring her. For now, nothing had happened. She was simply sitting on the chair in the dining room. Elia and Rhea were at school, Fang was under the shower. It was just like every Saturday morning, clear sky and sun hanging high. What could wrong?_

 _She didn't know. She placed a hand on her stomach, wincing as the pain started again, her teeth grinning against each other since none of this made any sense. It hadn't been the same when she was pregnant with Rhea. She hadn't felt a pain in her abdomen after only 7 weeks. "What the hell?" she said out loud, frowning more and more as the seconds were passing by._

" _Light? Did ya talk?"_

" _Don't worry it's—it's fine!" Lightning managed to say without really meaning any of her words. She wasn't fine. She wasn't fine in the slightest. But even still, she stood up so she could grab an ibuprofen in order to ease the pain. Slowly, she made her way towards the kitchen and grabbed the box of pills standing against the wall, quickly shoving two pills inside her throat with her eyes closed, swallowing them one by one carefully._

 _After a few more seconds where she stood completely still in front of the sink, Lightning made her way back towards the chair she had been sitting on for the past thirty minutes painfully and froze. She slightly opened her mouth to let the air out of it while staring at the stain. It wasn't really big, but bigger enough to make her understand there was a serious problem._

" _Fang?" Lightning called as she spread her legs to look at her jeans with terrified eyes. "Fang?!"_

" _What?"_

" _Fang I—I need to go to the hospital!" She listened to the water turning off and observed the naked woman stumbling out of the shower with a confused gaze. "Now. Now Fang. Something…something is wrong."_

" _Okay. Okay." She watched the tanned woman losing her every color as she staggered back towards the bedroom, glancing one time over shoulder to look deep inside her eyes. In the meantime, Lightning could still feel this pain. It was surreal. "Why" she begged inwardly to herself. "Why?"_

 _After two minutes, Fang was rushing back from the bedroom, her gaze quickly landing on the bloodstain on the chair while Lightning was waiting with her hands on her face in front of the door. "Let's…let's go. Light, what's going on?"_

" _I don't know Fang." Lightning said as her voice broke. Of course, she knew. She was an OB/GYN, she knew why she was bleeding. But how could she tell Fang? No. She couldn't. She simply walked out of the door with a slight frown on her face and stepped inside the car quietly, fastening her seatbelt and felt the car driving towards the hospital._

 _As they arrived, Lightning automatically asked to see her OB/GYN, explaining the situation to the receptionist she knew very well and was asked to wait a few seconds while she was contacting her. During those minutes that were feeling like long hours, Lightning had kept Fang's hand in her own the entire time. Her contact was appeasing her, soothing her in a way she couldn't explain. But then the pain started again. She squeezed harder, winced and closed her eyes while Fang was bringing her closer to her body to hold her, to give her her warmth._

" _Miss Farron-Yun? Doctor Henri is available right now. You know where to go." Lightning nodded quickly and quickly leaded Fang towards the second floor of the hospital, her heart thumping inside her chest faster and faster. It was even hurting her, if she had to be honest, but right now, she had bigger problems to consider._

 _As the elevator door opened, Lightning wasn't surprised to see Haley waiting in front of it with her arms crossed on her chest, knee-jerking her towards the room without a single word. As they were all inside the room, Lightning lay down on the chair and closed her eyes. "Lightning, what's going on? Why do you need me?"_

" _I—I need to know."_

" _Need to know what?" asked Fang as she put a hand on her wife's shoulder. "Ya—ya need to know what Light?"_

 _She couldn't find the courage to respond. How could she, actually? She simply waited. She felt the liquid on her stomach and listened. She opened her ears wide, trying to catch that heartbeat she was holding onto, that small sound she wanted to hear. But there was nothing. Not a single sound. She tried to focus, tried her best but even still, nothing. She drew her lip between her teeth in agony and opened her eyes, looking at Haley ducking her head._

" _Light? What's goin' on? Why—why is? Wh—."_

" _Lightning…" started her friend with a shaky voice. "I'm sorry… the baby is… he's…dead." It only took four words. Four simple fucking words to destroy her entire world. She closed her eyes back, listening to Fang gasping in pain while she could only stay still. She couldn't even move from the chair. She couldn't breathe. No, what she wanted at this very moment was to simply and only die._

 ** _2 months later._**

 _She was coming home from work. She was tired, defeated and upset. As she stepped inside the house at 1PM, everything was quiet. Everything was so quiet she had the feeling she was standing in a tomb. But as she was walking towards the bedroom, she could hear something. It was discreet and small, it was a pleading. It was a world of pain._

 _She quickly made her way towards the bathroom and knocked on the door before opening the door only to see Lightning sitting on the ground with her hands on her face, her body shaking roughly with the pain of the world on her shoulders. Her first reflex was to let her bag fall on the ground before rushing towards the girl releasing a mountain of tears. It had been like this every week. And it was killing her. she didn't know what to do. What could she do?_

" _Light…"_

" _It's gone—Fang! I—I can't! Every time I…every time I close my eyes! I… I can't…" she could feel her pain. She could feel the body shaking like a freaking leaf around her arms. The only thing she hadn't was the words. But what she didn't know at this time, was that these words she couldn't find were the only thing she needed. The only thing she wanted. The only thing that mattered._

 ** _4 months later._**

 _It was around 5PM when she came home, listening to her daughters fighting about something or someone, she didn't know. But she didn't actually care. She walked inside the living room, watching the woman standing still in front of the sink with slumped shoulders. And all she could do, was to feel that wave of anger inside her body yet again._

" _Fang, I'm home" Lightning said with a mirthless smile as she observed the bob of the head. "Thanks for your attention, it means a lot."_

" _What? what do ya want me to say?"_

" _Oh I don't know Fang" Lightning said as she was placing her bag on the chair along with her jacket. "I don't know, you could say 'how are you' or even' how was your day' but maybe those fucking words are hurting to much?"_

" _Fine, how are ya, Lightnin'?" – "Oh terrific! I'm great! Wow, it only took you four FUCKING months to spit these fucking words out of your mouth?!" – "I'm sorry?" Lightning watched the woman turning around with her jaw clenched, throwing her a scowling look in return._

" _You heard me Fang. I told you it took you FUKCING FOUR MONTHS TO ASK ME HOW I WAS DOING! WHAT, IT FUCKING HURT YOUR TONGUE TO ASK?!" Lightning roared._

 _As silence invaded the entire house, she stopped. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Now she had said it. she had said what was really hanging heavy on her chest. And suddenly, she knew what she wanted. She closed her eyes and shook her head._

" _Sure, you took care of Rhea and Elia, but what about me Fang? What about FUCKING me? When did I disappear from your mind?"_

" _Ya know that's not true Lightnin'!"_

" _Oh really? REALLY Fang? Then tell me, how the FUCK am I doing right now?!" Lightning said as she slammed her fist against the table._

" _I don't know Lightnin'! Fucking shit."_

" _Yeah, fucking shit Fang." Silence. It was an awful silence. One she had always hated. She looked up to her wife, staring into those green eyes with rage and let the words fly out of her mouth. "I want a divorce."_

 _At this very second, everything changed. And Lightning knew that nothing would ever be the same. But right now, she didn't care. No. She didn't give a single damn. She simply turned back around and headed herself towards the bedroom and slammed the door back shut before leaning on the door. She slid all the way down until her butt touched the ground. And she cried._

 _######_

The sun had now disappeared to leave place to a few clouds and stars. She was in her bed with Rhea, the girl already sleeping loudly and heavily, her chest slowly going up and down in the peaceful sleep she was experiencing.

Fang, on the other hand, had her eyes wide open. She had tried to fall asleep, but every time she was closing her eyes, she could picture this particular woman. She had seen her before, but never would she have thought that she would see her in this circumstance. She nibbled on her lip as she felt her throat getting smaller and smaller. She didn't know what do to anymore. _Does Serah know 'bout this? And if she does, why didn't she tell me?_

She sighed heavily without noticing the tear rolling down on her left cheek. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, trying to think of anything else than Lightning on top or under that redhead bitch, discreetly cursing between her teeth and simply closed her eyes. _This is all my fault. She has the right to move on. It's a good thing she moved on._

Fang sniffed and turned around in her bed to look at the blondie sleeping with her eyes deeply shut, observing the eye slides slowly moving due to the possible dream the girl was having and placed the palm of her hand on Rhea's cheek. She smiled lovingly at the sight of her daughter looking so peaceful and quickly closed her own eyes to finally go to sleep in order to start a brand-new day in a brand-new week.


	9. You know when to fold

It was one week before Christmas. Lightning had picked up Elia from Fang's in a tensed and cold atmosphere, the two women barely looking at each other in a mix of shame and annoyance for the pink-haired girl, while the brunette had just some trouble adjusting to the fact that she wasn't the only one anymore along with the fact that Rhea had refused to see her mother making things even more difficult. To say that things were going smoothly was a big fat joke but no one actually knew how to change anything.

Lightning and Elia were now standing in front of Serah's door in order to have a nice dinner with her sister and nephew, patiently waiting for the girl to come and open the door in silence. Elia knew her mother was still pretty upset since every time she was hearing the name 'Rhea', Lightning couldn't help but to stiffen her entire body in anger, clenching her fists so turn them into two balls and would grind her teeth every single time. She looked at her mother knocking on the door again with an arched brow whilst she was ducking her head, suddenly hoping Serah hadn't forgot about the dinner they had planned during the week.

"Oh hi! Sorry I didn't hear you when you first knocked!" Serah said with her usual enthused tone as she looked at the two girls waiting in front of the door. She unobtrusively looked around to try and find the last of the girls and simply nibbled on her lip as she realized Rhea was still nowhere to be seen around her mother. "How are you ladies?"

"Fine. Exhausted to be honest. You?" Lightning answered as she sauntered inside the house, her jacket quickly landing on the dining table chair. She turned around to wave at Daniel, the little blond boy rushing towards his aunt to place a wet kiss on her cheek.

"I'm fine…Rhea is—?" – "With Fang." Lightning bluntly responded as she stood back up straight from the ground to shake hands with Snow standing a little further away. She provided a fake smile before sharply focusing her attention back on her daughter tapping her shoulder. "What's up Elia?"

"Say…Do you mind if tomorrow a boy comes home? We need to work on a project together and I can't leave the house so…" Lightning arched brow, wondering if this 'boy' was the person her daughter had been talking to on the phone every single night for the past months and slowly nodded, smiling at the sight of Elia's grin on reaching her lips. "Thanks mom!"

"Sure. What's the project about?" the pink-haired woman asked as she grabbed the glass of Red wine Snow was handing her with a thankful smile.

"It's about reproduction."

"You do know I know a lot about this topic right? If you need help…" – "Well there's one thing I wanted to ask you, actually mom…but it's kinda embarrassing" Elia said as her cheeks changed colors to become slightly pink.

"Alright?" she answered as she sat down on the couch, Serah and Snow quickly joining them both with confused faces at the question Elia might or might not ask. _Please don't make me explain how people have sex._

"I was wondering, how did you and Mum get kids? How did it happen?" Lightning sighed discreetly and let a smile appear on her lips. She scratched her forehead after taking a sip from her glass and looked at her daughter with a soft smile.

"Alright, let me explain then." Lightning said with a smile.

 _She was looking at the different papers in front of her. They were all showing different characteristics, going from the age, the eye color, to the background –family, emotionally and professionally-. But she couldn't quite figure out which one was actually the best._

 _On one hand, there was a brown haired-man, 6'2, lawyer and studied at Harvard. The other one was a blond-haired man, 6,1, his favorite hobby being to play the guitar and to sing with his band. Studied a Yale. Teacher._

" _Fang? Do you know?" – "No…I don't. They're both cool, ya know?" She said as she swallowed her saliva heavily. She actually knew which one she wanted, but the picture of receiving his… sperm between her thighs was slightly making her sick and had no idea how Lightning could've actually managed such a thing. "I like the blond one…"_

" _Because he's a musician, huh?" Lightning asked with an amused smile on her lips, watching her wife's foot hitting the ground due to a stress she couldn't quite comprehend. "Fang? Are you okay?"_

" _Uh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a big decision, we already have an alien so…" Fang said as she pointed to the blondie sleeping in her stroller while Lightning was delicately bouncing it back and forth. "It's a great alien, but I don't want to make a wrong decision…"_

" _Fang, if you want to think about it some more we can leave you know."_

" _No, no I want this more than anythin'." Fang said to defend herself. "It's just… It's just that…"_

 _Lightning frowned, slowly starting to feel anguish inside her belly before looking at Rhea still sleeping peacefully. "Fang? What's going on?"_

" _Don't make fun of me. Promise me!" – "I promise Fang. What is it?" Fang nibbled on her lip n anxiety and placed both papers back on the table. She brought her hands together, palm on palm and glanced towards the ceiling to find the courage to tell her wife why she was hesitating without being laughed at. "Fang. I promise."_

" _Alright…Uh. It's just that I find it disgustin'…to have ya know, sperm inside of ya." Lightning drew her lip between her teeth as her gaze fixed itself upon Rhea again, and was glad to have turned her head at the exact moment Fang had said that because she was absolutely sure that the brunette had winced by saying the S-word. "How did ya found the courage to do that? I'm mean…"_

" _I closed my eyes and tried to think about something else. And I kept telling myself that thanks to that, we'll have a baby." – "Yeah…" Fang said, not still entirely sure about all this. "Fine. I'll take blond-man then. Will ya…will ya be there with me?"_

" _Of course, unless you don't want me to?" – "I want ya to. Can ya just tell me how it works?" – "Sure. It's simple actually. They are going to place a catheter linked to the syringe holding the sperm in your uterine cavity. And that's it. After that, you just need to stay on the chair for twenty minutes and then, you can simply live your life." Lightning said with a soothing tone, quickly grabbing her wife's hand to squeeze it in her own in order to make her relax before observing her going towards the reception sluggishly to place the paper on the surface._

 _During that time, Lightning had kept her gaze upon the little baby still sleeping peacefully and sometimes mumbling in his sleep before standing up from the chair to look at her wife with a smile, ready to finally have baby number two._

"So they just put the sperm inside the mother, is that right?"

"Yes. Sometimes it doesn't work after three or four attempts so you have to change the method; you're going to do fertilization." Lightning casually continued while Snow and Serah were both wincing in disgust for a reason she couldn't quite understand, since what they were doing was –in Lightning's mind- ten times worse.

"For Mum and you it worked the first time?"

"Yep. If it hadn't, you nor your irritating big sister would be there," Lightning said as her upper lip rose in contempt to express her clear resentment towards her oldest child. "In any case, that's all it took. Do you have other questions?"

"Elia I will give you twenty dollars to stop this conversation" suddenly interfered Serah with a wince on her face, feeling more and more disgusted by the details she had received.

"Twenty? That's not enough!" Elia responded with a grin.

"Fine, forty!" Serah replied, her brows furrowing in anger.

"Let me think…" Lightning shook her head with amusement at the scene she was observing, thinking that her daughter was a real trader as she was listening to the price going higher and higher. Snow was trying to interfere in order to stop his wife's deal while Elia was slowly receiving her pocket money of the month.

"Last offer! 150 dollars and you stop questioning your mother about sex or whatever!"

"Alright. I accept the deal" Elia said as she stood up to shake hands with Serah, unable the hide the grin she had on her lips as she looked at her mother smiling in her direction. "You're right mom, you own people when it's about sex."

"Yeah, but don't try to do that with me sweetie okay?" Lightning spotted the small pout followed by a bob of the head before focusing her attention back on her sister looking at her with a small broken smile. "What is it Serah? If this is about Rhea please don't bother. If she can't find the common sense to apologize for what she said, there's nothing I can do in return."

"What did she do Light? You told me you would tell me." The Doctor sighed heavily and ducked her head to stare at the ground, her neck cracking at the unpleasant memory of the Beach. She had felt so bed about the way she had talked to Fang that she had immediately sent her a text message to apologize but hadn't received any response.

"Rhea…" she started while looking around to make sure Daniel wasn't near them to hear what she was about to say under her sister's confused gaze. "She called me a 'fucking bitch'. Told me 'fuck you' and that she hated me. So let's just say it's kinda stuck in my throat for the time being."

"Okay…Why did she tell you that?"

"Because Fang, Rhea and Elia saw me at the Beach with Alex. And Rhea was apparently holding onto the dream that me and Fang would once be together again." Serah ducked her head. She knew Rhea's hopping since they had talked about it a few weeks from now, and even she had tried to lead Lightning back towards Fang. "Did you know anything about this?" she asked as she looked at both Snow and Serah.

"I…Rhea had talked to me about it. She wanted to see you together again because she remembers the time you were 'complimentary' as she referred to you" Serah said in a whisper, as if she was ashamed of keeping secrets from her big sister. "I didn't know what do to, she was so… sad. All she wants is to see you both together again. Actually Light, it's what I want to."

Lightning opened wide eyes, quickly snatching her glass from the table to place it at her lips. She took a long mouthful of red wine as she could feel her own heartbeats beating inside her temples, her eyes getting darker as the seconds were passing by in front of her nose in the most complete silence she had experienced in a long time. She looked at the content of her glass with disdain, her hand holding the glass more and more while Serah was holding her breath at the mirthless smile her older sister was throwing at her. "Never mind Light…"

"Exactly, Serah. I've had enough of this. Fine, I get that no one is happy about the fact that Fang and I got a divorce but things happened! Things neither of you could possibly understand!" Lightning started, quickly standing up from the couch with her glass still in hand. "People get divorces! What the _fuck_ do you want me to do about? I tried okay? Trust me I've _tried_ to fix things, we saw a therapist for two months after the fucking divorce without anyone knowing it but nothing changed! It still was the same!"

Elia was looking at the ground. She could only listen to her mother getting so frustrated about this again but kept her mouth strictly shut. "Nothing will ever change okay? Do I regret it? Yes! To my bones! I've loved Fang for more than twenty years and everything crumbled, everything started to rot around us…"

"Why Mom?" Lightning looked at her daughter lifting her head up to fix her gaze upon her eyes and closed her own in pain. _Nope, she can't know._ "Because I wasn't in love her anymore" was all Lightning could say.

* * *

"Rhea? Are ya in your bedroom?"

"Yep!" Rhea was writing. She had been writing in one of her old diaries she had found while looking through her things in the drawers and had remembered how good it a had been for her to write about her feelings over and over again during the procedure of divorce and had decided to do it again. For now, she had mostly written about her mother but had kept an entire page to talk about Charlotte.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course Mum." The blondie smiled cheerfully at the sight of her mother going inside the room but immediately knew by the look on her face that something wasn't right. She didn't know what it was, yet, but knew that she was in for a bad, bad mood. "What's going on? Seems like you've seen a ghost!"

"Rhea. Your mother is comin' to talk to ya." Fang said with a pinched smile.

"What?" Rhea opened wide and confused eyes, her mouth slightly opening while her hands were shutting the diary back. "What did you say, mum?"

"I said your mother is comin'. Ya both need to talk; Christmas is in a few days." Rhea gawked, looking at her mother with darkening eyes for such a betrayal.

"So what?!" She yelled back at her mother and already back on both her feet. "I don't care! I don't want to see her! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"This isn't 'bout ya Rhea!" the blondie gawked. Never had she seen her mother getting so furious against her in such little amount of time. "This is my first Christmas with both of ya with everyone in two fuckin' years! Just try to listen to your mother when she speaks to ya! She had the right to explain for fucks sakes!" And never had she heard so many swear words coming out from her mouth in front of her. She narrowed her eyes to stare at the floor, sniffing discreetly as tears were shimmering in her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry mum" she still managed to say, quickly turning back around to go towards the bedroom window to look at her horizons, free to let the few tears rolling down on her cheeks. She dropped her shoulders as she listened to the bedroom door closing back and quickly brushed her cheeks with contempt. She didn't want to see her but was accepting only because of her mum since it obviously meant a lot to her for a reason she couldn't quite understand. _She betrayed her, why is she defending her, I don't understand._

She crossed her arms on her chest aggressively, looking through the window to check on any incoming vehicle before crashing back on the bed to gaze at the ceiling. What did she want to talk about? Was she expecting some kind of apology? If that was the case, her mother could shove it inside her own ass deeply enough for her to choke. Rhea shook her head in anger, letting the tears filling her eyes once more as she listened to a car door closing roughly on the street, the doorbell ringing in the entire house the next minute. _This is it._

She stood up from her bed, already thinking about this onerous moment she was going to spend with her mother and listened closely to the conversation on-going between the two women. With an ear on the door, she could listen to her mom explaining she would need to talk to Fang after, in order to talk in a quiet and calm atmosphere. "Rhea? Your mom is here."

With a deep and heavy breath, Rhea sharply opened the bedroom door and made her way towards the dining table, ignoring royally her mother on her way there and sat down painfully on the chair with her face in her hands. She lifted her head up to throw her mother a lowering look, quickly receiving the same in return as Lighting sat down in front of her with a cigarette already burning between her fingertips. "Rhea, can you please stop acting like a child?"

"Oh I'm _sorry_ mom, I guess I still have childish dreams I'm not ready to give up on. So, the answer is no." She nibbled on her lip with anxiety, already feeling her blood boiling inside her veins.

"Listen Rhea…" Lightning started with her gaze fixed upon the table. "Your mother and I have been divorced for a long time. We had problems that you couldn't understand. I too, kept on hopping that maybe one day your mother and I would be together again, but I have to move forward" she said with a neutral tone, her face unable to show any kind of expression. "And so should you. Keeping on this faint hope won't make you happy in any way."

"You just gave up so you want me to do the same right? Well, I'd rather stay here if I have to bury my "faint hope". At least I feel like someone is able to understand me. I feel like I have a family without any stranger to step in my way." She observed her mother carefully, wincing at the sight of the fists clenching in anger while plastering a mirthless smile on her lips.

"Stop it, Rhea. I've had enough." The blondie slightly flinched, the anger she previously had in her body now being transformed, mutating into something close to fear and anxiety and started to wonder is she would actually make it alive. "You don't think I've suffered when your mother and I divorced? You don't think I was in pain?!" she began to say, almost yelling her every word. "I have loved this woman for twenty fucking years Rhea. And it ended. It was like my fucking whole world was taking away from in the blink of an eye."

"Then why aren't you fighting to get her back?! Why are you staying with the redhead mom?!" Rhea was pleading, terribly so. But the look on her mother's face wouldn't vanish, even with the tears that had begun to fill her eyes.

"Keep your sermons to yourself would you? I don't need you to tell me how I am supposed to live my life. What the fuck do you want me to do? Act like everything was okay? To start again with your mother so everything could crumble away again?" Lightning said mirthlessly, taking angry drags from the cigarette that was consuming faster than usual.

Rhea frowned and looked at the ring on her mother's finger. The hypocrisy of it was setting her on fire. "How can you know that everything would crumble away again? You don't know anything. And why do you keep that fucking ring on if you really want to make her disappear from your life?" she asked while pointing at the object with contempt.

Lightning scoffed. Slowly, her eyes narrowed to look at the piece of jewelry on her finger, observing the pink-gold ring with a faint smile before turning it around her finger. She slowly took it off her finger but kept it inside the palm of her hand for a long time without any words being spoken. Part of herself, is what she had told people. But what if this part was gone? What if Lightning was ready to give it back? Slowly, Rhea looked at the ring leaving the hand to be placed back on the table, her mother quickly lifting her head up to look deep inside her cerulean eyes. "Fuck" she said out loud, snatching the ring back from the table to place it back where it belonged.

Rhea scoffed loudly with a shake of the head, cursing between her teeth in anger. "You don't know anything Rhea."

"That's what _you_ think. But trust me; I know more than you think. I'm not stupid or blind you know? I know you…" she stopped and nibbled on her lip. "I know you lost someone you loved."

"And who might that be?" Lightning asked with a shaky voice, trying her best to keep any emotion buried inside her chest while her heart was thumping harder than she would've thought.

"I…I guess I'll never know…" Rhea said with a lowering voice, ducking her head in pain at the sight of her mother. Never, had she seen her mother this devastated. She could now clearly see the pain with her own two eyes, observing her eyes being flooded by the tears she had kept for so long. "But we were there. We were with both of you all the way down and you can't blame me when I tell you I want my family. That's what you wanted too…"

"I tried, Rhea." That's when she distinctly heard it; the voice breaking completely while her mother's walls were crumbling all around her. "I couldn't…" she added, taking a long and deep breath to calm herself down. "I couldn't handle the loss and neither could Fang. After, everything was about fighting. We couldn't...we couldn't keep a conversation without it ending badly." Rhea ducked her head even more; feeling like the weight of the world had suddenly crashed upon her own shoulders, trying as hard as she could to keep her balance under so much weight. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." She lifted her head up and stood up from the chair painfully. "You're not sorry at all. You just found someone else to be with."

"That's how I _cope_ Rhea!" Lightning said while jumping off her chair in anger, her fist slamming against the wooden table roughly.

"Oh yeah?! Then let me 'cope' how I need to. Goodbye." Rhea glared at her mother and simply walked towards her bedroom door again. On her way, she listened to scoffs, huffs and curses and closed her bedroom door back as soon as she penetrated her room, leaning on the door as she was back inside. Had she been too brutally honest? Maybe. But her 'model' had decided to vanish from her sight, and she sure wasn't going to play nice with the very woman who had crushed all her dreams to place them in the corner of a room.

Painfully and after a few seconds of introspection, Rhea sluggishly made her way towards her bed to crash on the mattress and finally let out the tears she had been holding. She buried her face inside her pillow to hide the loud sobs leaving her throat. "I hate her!" she yelled, mechanically punching the pillow where her head was resting before grabbing her cellphone from the pocket. She needed to talk to someone she loved, and Charlotte was the only one at this very second who could possibly understand what she was feeling.

Without further questioning, the blondie pressed on call and placed the phone at her ear, sniffing and sobbing loudly as her free hand was brushing the tears away from her face. "Cha—charlotte?" she said with a broken voice. "I need—I need you."

* * *

Fang had been waiting patiently in front of the building, lighting cigarette after cigarette to keep her cool and hoped –no-, prayed that the conversation mother/daughter had run smoothly. But as her phone buzzed in the palm of her hand, she stared a few seconds at the phone with a slightly opened mouth and knew for a fact that thing had taken a very, _very_ wrong turn.

Nibbling on her lip, the brunette opened the front door and began to walk slowly up the stairs, cursing between her teeth. As she stood still in front of her apartment door, she suddenly hesitated to go inside. She knew exactly what Lightning wanted to talk about, but the thing was that she had no interest at all about it. Call her selfish, but Lightning was _hers_ , not someone else's.

Taking her courage in both her extremely shaky hands, Fang grabbed the doorknob and turned it, immediately revealing the pink-haired girl sitting on the same chair that when she had left with her face buried in her hands. By the looks of it, she had been in this position for a long time and was feeling somewhat thankful that she had waited before texting her. Dealing with Lightning's wrath wasn't something she was holding in her heart, on the contrary. "Light?"

"Fang. Sorry it took me so long to text you… I was…riled." And by the tone of her voice, she still was Fang thought as she slowly came towards the pinky. She sat down in front of her, sweeping the room with her eyes in a feeling of suffocation. "Rhea…I don't think it changed anything. And honestly I'm done fighting. If she wants to come home she can, if she doesn't then so be it. If it's time away from me that she needs, that's what she'll get."

"What…What happened exactly?" Fang carefully asked, intertwining her fingers in anguish.

"We talked. She explained to me she wanted us to be a family again. That she knew…for—." She cleared her throat and shook her head, the words being difficult to be said. "For the baby. But I explained her that she had to put that dream aside. I honestly don't know how we, you and I, could ever make this work again. And Serah too, apparently, she's been plotting. Did you know anything about this Fang?"

"I didn't" she lied, her heartbeats thumping in her chest. "I knew Rhea was onto somethin', but I didn't know 'bout Serah."

"This is getting so annoying. I've had a hard time trying to forget about you and now it's rushing back. I just…I can't. I can't let you come back." Fang froze. Not for a long time, not enough for Lightning to actually realize it, but she felt it inside her chest. She only nodded slowly with her arms crossed on her chest and kept quiet.

"I should go, Fang. I'll…I'll see you around." Without saying another word, Lightning was already standing back on both her feet and near the door to leave. But right before she was out of the apartment, they both looked at each other. It wasn't love, it wasn't hate. It was pain. A morbid pain grabbing you by the gut. It was the same pain both of them had felt when Fang had left the house to move out. "I'll see you around" she added in a whisper as the door opened to be shut back the second after.

Fang stood still. Moving a single muscle was hurting her, the simple fact of thinking was already enough to cause her pain. She only stared at the table with a slightly opened mouth, staring at _it_ with agony. Slowly, she reached the object and grabbed it between her fingertips to look at it more closely, her blurry vision preventing her from doing so from afar. She sniffed discreetly and grabbed her neckless from under her shirt to look at the two objects on it. The first one was a gift from her sister, a fang shaped piece of sliver while next to it was her own ring, the one she had never taken away, and would never take away.

She stayed in the silence, the golden ring being held firmly in the palm of her hand and closed her eyes. And with a last sigh, she gave up.


	10. We wish you

Christmas was finally here. The day everyone in the Farron-Yun family was afraid of due to the close proximity of the members deciding to be on a ground-war for the past two weeks was finally here. Serah was hosting the party once more since she had thought that spending Christmas at either Fang's or Lightning's would become too uncomfortable for anyone to be in since no one in the family had spoken to each other.

Serah was currently working her own magic in the kitchen, annoyed by her husband and child running around like they were both five year old, screaming and yelling about being a pirate or a prisoner, everything only making the girl more angry than before.

She had woken up in a hurry at 7AM and had rushed to the shop to buy the necessary food she had ordered the previous weeks. She had been under an amazing amount of stress ever since she had woken up, and sensed that this feeling wouldn't go away in the blink of an eye.

Annoyed, Serah buried her face inside her hands in despair, breathing in and out as slowly as she could to calm herself down before clenching her jaw roughly at the sound of screams next to her. Sharply, she placed the palm of her hands on the counter and glared at the two men, glad to see that the effect was to make them both shush faster than the speed of light. "Snow, Dan. Can you please _, please_ go somewhere else like the garden to play? I need to focus; I'm cooking for nine people so get out."

She pointed at the door aggressively with a frown, observing the two men slowly and quietly leaving the house to give her the necessary space she needed to be focused. She shook her head in despair, face-palming herself as the same screams appeared again but felt glad that the walls were effectively covering them. She sighed, quickly focusing her attention on the recipe in front of her face before listening to a knock on the door, cursing between her teeth. _I will never, ever have time to cook! Darn!_

She quickly walked to the door, her feet slamming the parquet in anger before sharply opening the door to reveal Lightning and Vanille with boxes and bags in their hands, the two women arching the same brow in confusion at the sight of the pinky looking –for once- so riled up. "Serah, are you alright?"

"Yes! Sorry guys! Just Snow and Dan drove me crazy, I'm late this is a nightmare." Lightning chuckled and gave her sister a quick kiss on the cheek as she stumbled inside the living room, quickly placing the presents on the ground under the tree Snow had picked up the exact same morning.

"Nice tree Serah. Need help in the kitchen?" Vanille asked as she stood still next to Lightning, both women crossing their arms on their chest and waiting for any kind of instructions.

"I do! Please help me" Serah begged, quickly going back inside the kitchen to finally get this over with. "Light, you can work on the meal, the recipe is right there" she said, pointing at the fridge where a blue note was hanging. "Van', you can help me with the appetizers?" She smiled at the bob of the head before gazing at her sister's hand unintentionally, but couldn't help but to freeze sharply.

It was gone. The ring, the only thing Lightning had been clinging on to for the past twenty years had vanished from her finger. She kept on staring at the ringless hand, her mouth opening in shock and confusion while Lightning was arching a severe brow at the sudden facial expression.

"Serah? What's going on?" Serah lifted her head up to lock her eyes with her sister's, unable to say a single word under her consternation. "Alright…"

"No, I was just thinking. I hope everything will be alright tonight…" Serah and Vanille both exchanged a worried smile as Lightning's shoulders tensed, quickly focusing both their attention on the recipe in front of their faces, the younger pink headed darting at her sister's hand. _She took it off…when? How? Why? Shit…_ "Alright, so we have to…do what?"

"Really Serah? You know you have the recipe in front of your eyes right?" she stuck her tongue out in her best-friend's direction, swiftly turning around to open the fridge in order to take the ingredients for her appetizers. She didn't wanted to do something to fancy but knew the appetite of both her man and her sister's two daughters and had decided to make at least twenty mini-quiches, tapas and snails that she had bought already prepared, not feeling the strength required to touch something so icky. "Can I put some music, please, pretty please?"

"Sure go ahead! I think the stereo's next to the TV." Serah darted in the living room, quickly spotting the object while her redhead friend was swiftly moving towards the living room to grab the object. She placed it on the counter in front of the three of them before plugging her phone and pressed on her playlist. As soon as the music resonated in the kitchen, the pink-haired sister's looked at each other confused, brows arched and pinched lip before both their hips began to shake from left to right in amusement. "Great choice Vanille! At least I'm having fun now."

"Say you weren't before even if we're here Serah!" Lightning amusingly said, quickly snatching the knife from the knife rest to cut the piece of beef in slices as explained on her piece of paper. She unconsciously placed her thumb on her ring-finger, screwing up her entire face as she couldn't feel the object on it. _Why the fuck did I take it away?_ she asked herself with a pinched nose, shaking her head from left to right at her own mistake. She sighed heavily, glad that the music was able to cover her sounds before feeling a hand clutching at her hip, her eyes narrowing to observe Daniel looking at with shiny eyes. "What's up kiddo?"

"Where is your ring Auntie Light? You lost it?" Lightning opened her mouth in order to speak but quickly stopped, squatting in front of the child to brush his hair with the palm if her hand. "Auntie Fang gave it to you. Did you lose it on purpose?"

"Dan', stop asking Lightning questions and go play with Dad." The little boy shook his head in annoyance, crossing his arms on his chest as he began to pout while Lightning was casting her sister a small smile.

"No, I can answer. Actually Daniel, I left the ring at Fang's place. It belongs to her, since she gave it to me." The boy opened wide eyes and placed a hand on the pinky's hand before rushing inside her arms.

"I'm sorry Lightning" he simply answered as he put his head against his aunt's shoulder. Lightning chuckled and locked eyes with her sister, noticing the pain in the pinky's eyes before standing back up. She looked at Daniel with a broken smile before focusing her attention back on the meat. She nibbled on her lip, trying to forget about the stupid ring but could feel two insistent stares on her back, quickly glancing over her shoulder to observe Vanille and Serah look at her concerned.

"What is it ladies?" she softly asked with the knife still in hand.

"Nothing Light. Don't worry." Serah threw her sister a reassuring smile before observing her living the kitchen with her phone at her ear, already knowing who the person on the other line was. She sighed heavily and shook her head in disappointment before looking at the redhead ducking and shaking her head in despair. "I think…I think Lightning and Fang will never be together again. But for the sake of their family, I'll still try. Vanille, can you please help me?"

Vanille nibbled on her lip and turned around to lean against the counter. She crossed her arms on her chest and ducked her head to look at the ground, thinking deeply about what her best-friend was asking her to do. She had seen Fang a few days ago, her sight being enough to make her suffer. It was like she had given up on life itself and not only her failed marriage. It may seem cruel, but she couldn't help but to blame Lightning for it. She was the reason they had divorced, wasn't she?

"I don't know Serah. I have mixed feelings. I think that Fang would be happier without Lightning in her life. At least, not anymore." Serah gawked. She looked at Vanille with judging eyes and shook her head in contempt.

"I can't believe you're saying that. For all we know, it's because of Fang they got a divorce!" Serah snapped, sharply cutting the cucumber with her knife with an aggressive scowl.

"That's the thing, we don't know anything Serah. All I know is that Fang had enough." They both looked at each other with condescension, protecting their respective sisters already putting them in difficult situations but now, it was even worse.

Everything was starting to crumble, and even their unbreakable bond was slowly fading away. "Fine. Protect Fang, I'll protect Lightning." And without saying another word, the two girls began to prepare the dinner again, in a complete and heavy silence.

######

"Rhea, I bought this for ya to give to your mother since I'm guessin' ya didn't bother to buy anythin'?" Rhea shook her head with a pinched nose as she walked inside the car, glancing at the back seat to look at Elia scratching her forehead but also to stare at all the boxes spread on the seat. "I got her a case for her phone."

"Alright." Fang sighed heavily as she turned the engine on. She hated Christmas in LA, since it was nothing Christmassy at all. It was 80°, it was sunny and not snowing at all, where the hell was the charm in all this? The Aussie glanced through the window, observing the landscape disappearing in front of her eyes before stopping at the red light.

Squeezing the wheel tightly, Fang furrowed her brows. But the look she was throwing at the light standing before her had nothing nice in it. It was a look filled with rage and contention, disappointment and annoyance. She was dreading this dinner, afraid of everything that could come up, and since Vanille had texted her about the argument between her and Serah, she was now sure that clans had formed to defend the two person that had created this situation.

If she had to be honest, she didn't even know if Lightning had bought her anything for Christmas, not that it mattered, but since she had been through the trouble to find something, she could only hope that Lightning had had the decency to do the same. "Mum, it's green."

"Uh?" Fang looked at her older daughter before pressing on the pedal at a honk coming from behind her, quickly waving to excuse herself. She discreetly growled, gripping the wheel even tighter in her hands. _Fuckin' hell_. She glanced at Rhea, watching the girl taking picture of herself with a stupid smile on her lips and arched a confused brow in her direction. "Rhea, what are ya doin'?"

"I'm sending a Snapchat to Charlotte to wish her a Merry Christmas!" Confusion grew on Fang's face, frowning as she turned to the right to reach the main street.

"Why can't ya just call, ya know like normal people do?" Rhea slightly opened her mouth before positioning her phone in front of her mother's face to take a picture, giggling like a child at the different effects she was swapping to choose the perfect one. "Rhea?"

"This is so fun, you're kinda disgustin'." She stopped talking instantly with a small headshake, amused by the accent rushing back once again but knew that her mother was, for once, less than amused. She looked at her with worriedness, observing the brow slanted in anger and the lip quivering from time to time, and couldn't help but notice that her mum had been in this exact state for the past week.

She had been moody all the seven days, wandering around the apartment when she wasn't working or wasn't at the tattoo shop, staying in a complete and frankly disturbing silence all the time. And it was even worse when you were even trying to engage a conversation with her, since the only answers you were to get were a grunting sound or a sharp 'I'm fine'.

Of course, it hadn't taken a long time for Rhea to understand that her mother had messed up yet again, but had this time, managed to break her mum all together. But the reason remained unknown. For now, at least, but it was Christmas time and broaching this subject now would be, or so she thought, her death sentence. So, to avoid any kind of altercation, Rhea kept her focus on her smartphone, looking at the different snap chats she had received from her friends and her girlfriend with a beam drawn on her lips, darting in the rear-view mirror from time to time to observe her younger sister looking through the window.

Elia too, had been proven more distant these past days. But that time, Rhea hadn't hesitated to ask what was wrong, trying to get into that annoyingly thick head of hers and had only received a shrug in return. A shrug, meaning that her mom had managed to get under her skin to get her on her side, toying with the sister/sister relationship they had built for the past fifteen years. Of course, Elia had told her it had nothing to do with that and that she only had other problems in high school, but Rhea wasn't stupid enough to believe the big fat lie.

And now, it was Christmas day. The only day where everyone was supposed to be together, as social convention was telling them. She had cherished this moment ever since her mum had walked out the door but this time, she was resentful and reluctant. No, today was going to be one of the worst nights of her life and had no idea if everyone would make it alive by the time the clock would reach the last toll.

"Rhea? Ya know we're here yeah?" The blondie lifted her head up from her screen to look at her vicinity, observing her house's aunt with a small smile on her lips, smile that vanished instantly at the sight of the SUV nicely parked next to the house. She growled in anger as she opened the door to leave the car, grabbing a few bags from the trunk that her mum was handing her with slumped shoulders, darting at the house to observe shadows behind the windows while inhaling deeply to prepare herself for this.

Slowly but surely, Rhea began to walk towards the house with a steady head and waited for her mum to knock three times on the door. It didn't take Serah long to open the door, but in her mind, it seemed like decades. Decades of wondering, creating scenarios in her brain without having one ending in a nice way and fought the urge to grunt as soon as the door opened.

"Hey girls! Rhea, it's been a while!" Rhea nodded with a pinched nose before going inside her aunt's arms to give her a quick hug, waving at Vanille and Snow standing still and chatting in the middle of the living room as she walked inside the house.

Instinctively, she placed the presents under the big tree, observing the decoration Serah and probably, by the looks of it, Daniel with an amused smile before turning around to look at her mother. She observed her with anger, looking at her figure, her attitude but could also see her sadness, thing she had seen in a long time, or at least not like that. But, stubborn being her attitude, Rhea only huffed before going towards Daniel playing with Lego's, observing the death star that was having trouble being built for the past year.

As she walked towards it, Rhea listened to a throat clearing and knew for a fact that this precise sound could only come from her mother trying to catch her attention and glanced in her direction to watch her with her arms crossed on her chest. She sighed heavily but went towards her nonetheless to give her a quick kiss on the cheek without speaking a single word before heading back to Daniel in a hurry.

Fang had observed the scene from afar, barely listening to whatever Vanille was telling her and was now realizing she had been staring at her daughter and ex-wife's interaction. It's only when she saw fingers clicking in front of her face that the brunette focused her attention back on the redhead looking at her with a broken smile, narrowing her look to stare at the ground in defeat. "What were ya sayin' Van'?" she asked as she moved towards the kitchen to grab a glass of red wine.

"I was saying that Hope and I were leaving in two days. We're going to Hawaii for New Year's…" Fang nodded slowly, biting the flesh in her cheek but wasn't completely sure if she heard it right, and knowing her sister's temper, pretending to understand was actually the best thing to do in this situation. "Will you be okay? Do you know how you'll be spending New Year's Fang?"

"Uh, no I don't know. I'll see, I guess." She faked a smile before turning around, looking at Lightning talking with Serah in something close to disdain before toying with her neckless. She felt her own ring dangling between her breasts, wondering why she hadn't taken the ring away before looking at Lightning now ring-less hand with a pinched nose. _I'm freakin' stupid._

"Fang? You're whispering, and I can hear you. Why are you stupid?" sharply turning around, Fang arched a brow as she looked in her sister's direction, wondering how she could've spoken out loud before shaking her head in despair.

"Nothin', Vanille. I'll be fine eh? So, where's the wine?" she asked as she skirted around the counter to grab a glass in one of the cupboards while Vanille was grabbing the already opened bottle. She grabbed it quickly and poured half a drink, observing the red color filling the glass with a sigh of relief before placing the glass at her lips to finally relax, her stare pinned onto the pink-haired girl.

Lightning was standing away from everyone with a hand on Elia's shoulder, nodding at what Serah was telling her while feeling the insistent stare coming from the kitchen. She was darting in that direction occasionally, faking the fact to be looking for Daniel or Snow only to stumble under Fang's stare. As a knock occurred on the door, the doctor observed both Serah and Vanille going towards it but couldn't help but to arch a brow at the distance put between the two of them.

She followed them with her stare, furrowing her brows more and more as no words were spoken and couldn't help but notice that it had been like this ever since she had been on the phone with Alex, the two younger women ignoring each other and never speaking a word. Even Lightning had tried to start a conversation but had quickly abandoned on that task as she had received only a glance from Serah and a glare from Vanille.

As Hope entered the house, she smiled at him and quickly realized that the team was now complete. Everyone was here, and it was nearly 8PM, meaning that soon they would all start with the appetizers and wondered in what atmosphere everything would happen. As the blond man greeted everyone, Lightning slowly made her way towards the kitchen and walked next to Fang to grab the bottles of Champagne from the fridge and turned around to look at her back.

She stayed there, bottles in hand in front of the fridge for a few seconds while looking at Fang's messy hair with a narrowing look and shook her head. With a sigh, she pushed herself from the fridge and made her way back inside the living room, handing one of the bottles to Snow with a small smile. "Alright, Serah, did you bring all the glasses?"

"How many do we need again?" Lightning chuckled and began to count in her head.

"6, since Rhea won't fool me twice anymore" she answered as she glanced in her daughter's direction, observing the scowling look being thrown in her direction. "Yes, six, Serah."

The younger Farron nodded as she placed the required glasses on the coffee table while Snow was already waiting patiently above the table with the bottle in his hand. As the glasses were all poured, everyone was asked to come closer to take their drinks, three glasses of brown liquid standing next to the others for the kids. Lightning didn't hesitate to snatch hers from the table and looked at the other people coming closer to her and her sister, observing yet again the distance put between Vanille and Serah and wondered what could've happened between them both again.

"Well…" Serah started as she nibbled on her lip, her hand slightly shaking as she was gripping her glass. "Merry Christmas everyone…"

"Can I say something?" Lightning arched a brow and observed everyone focusing their attention on Snow placing himself in the middle of everyone. "I just want to say something, and this is for everyone. I know that some people in this room had troubles during the past weeks, disagreements, fighting and so on" she frowned, wondering where this was all going as she crossed her arms on her chest. "But this is Christmas. And I would really like if just for one night we could all put our differences aside and enjoy the night as a family. Just think about it please? I'm not targeting anyone but please…just try. Merry Christmas."

Silence spread across the entire room while glances were thrown in every direction. Serah was intensively looking at Vanille with a faint smile while Lightning and Fang were glancing at each other. The pink-haired girl cleared her throat and raised her glass in the air with a small smile and took a big deep breath. "Snow, I think this is the first smart thing I've heard you say…and I've known you for fifteen years. Miracles do happen at Christmas!"

Laughter. Lightning chuckled and winked in the blond man's direction to click her drink with his own before making her way towards him to pat him on the back. She leaned at his ear and began to whisper. "Thank you Snow." He smiled and nodded while Lightning was observing Rhea ducking her head to look at the ground. Of course, she wasn't surprised to see that her daughter didn't listen to a word Snow had said but wasn't going to let that ruin the good night they were probably going to spend together.

"When do you guys want to open the presents actually? Waiting on midnight?" Lightning lifted her head up to look at Hope with a smile and nodded with almost everyone in the room, Daniel being the only one pouting as he sat down on the sofa under Serah's amused gaze.

"What's the matter sweetie?" she asked as she squatted to brush his hair.

"I want to open them now mommy! I don't want to wait!" Daniel replied with a sad look in his eyes, desperately trying to get this to work.

"Sure, but you will be even happier when you open them later, don't you think?"

Lightning chuckled as she walked next to the boy with her glass at her lips, sighing with relief at this taste she had always loved. Champagne was just like white wine, but only a thousand times better. Sparkly, light, what was there not to like in the drink of the gods? "Hey Light?"

She flinched at the voice before sharply turning around to look at Fang coming her way with a hand on her nape, her eyes darting in every direction to avoid the painful eye-contact. "What's up Fang?"

"Can I talk to ya?" she nodded, pointing at the door to her sister before grabbing her packet of cigarettes from her bag and followed Fang outside the house, discreetly closing the door back behind them both. They both lighted their respective fags and looked up to the sky to observe the stars shining in the night sky.

"Alright, what is it, Fang?" Lightning nibbled on her lip as she observed Fang turning around to turn her back at her, her head still looking up to the sky with slumped shoulders. "Fang?"

"I've been offered a position." The pink-haired girl arched a brow, wondering why this had to sound so melodramatic since she could only see the good news in this, but quickly understood why they were away from everyone. "It's in Sydney."

"In Sydney?" she asked as she narrowed her look to stare at the ground.

"Yeah. I have to give 'em my answer next week. If I say yes, I'll be gone on the 1st." she nodded as Fang turned around to look inside her eyes but kept her stare on the ground while turning her thumb on the edge of her glass. "I just wanted to let ya know because we'll have to talk 'bout this with the girls."

"Are you going to take it?" Lightning asked, fighting to keep her voice from breaking.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. But I think that I'm goin' to take it." Why was this hurting her so much? All she could do was to stare, unable to understand how Fang could seriously leave the USA to go on the other side of the planet. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell ya. I'm goin' back inside."

She moved to the side as Fang crashed her fag against the wall and listened to the door opening to be closed back. Going back inside after such news wasn't something Lightning could handle, not right now. She simply began to walk a little further away with her eyes staring at the stars, stars becoming almost indistinguishable as her vision was becoming blurry. But she couldn't understand her own reaction. Why was this affecting her so much? She was the one deciding to bury their love once and for all, she shouldn't be that touched by the news. _What if…_ She shook her head.

What would happen with Rhea and Elia, then? Where would they go, where would they stay? Lightning knew the law well and knew that the two girls would stay here since Lighting was making more money and especially since they had both lived here their entire life. But she couldn't picture Fang leaving alone too. And now, they only had a week to settle all this.

After a few deep breaths and a last few drags on her cigarette, the pink-haired girl sharply made her way back towards the house with her glass still in hand and pushed the door softly to be back inside the living room. She looked at Rhea, Elia and Fang talking and laughing on the couch with a smile and did her best to keep it on for the rest of the evening.

######

The presents had almost all been given. Elia was already playing with her computer while Rhea was plugging her phone on the stereo with a grin on her lips under Lightning's amused gaze. She had received some things she could use but realized that the only two presents remaining under the tree were the one she had bought for Fang and another one she had no idea who it belonged to. So as Daniel pointed at them both, the two women slowly made their way towards it with arched brows.

"This is one is for you Fang" Lightning said as she bent down to grab the heavy box from under the tree to hand it to her.

"And this is for ya, Light" the brunette replied as she handed the bag with a slight frown drawn on her face.

They both took the respective objects and went together on the sofa to open them at the same time, Lightning's nifty hand carefully tearing the paper to reveal the present. She chuckled at the sight of it and glanced in Fang's direction, the woman winking at her in amusement. She tore the entire paper away to look at the collection of six extremely expensive bottles of white wine, her hand sliding on the wooden box with a small headshake. "It's great Fang, thank you…"

"Shit Light, are ya serious?" she glanced at the box being opened to look at the present she had bought for Fang, ten disks of artists she loved with the turntable looking like a suitcase under them. "This is great. Really. Thank ya so much."

A smile crossed both their faces as they stood back up from the sofa to stand still in front of each other. Lightning drowned in Fang's eyes, unsure of how to proceed from here since her brain was telling her to stay still while her body was pushing her towards her to grab her in her arms. It was like a positive and a negative reaction, as if protons and electrons were fighting around each other but, in this situation, what would turn out to be the neutron? Every solution seemed terrible and staring inside fang's green eyes was becoming uncomfortable. More than planned, in fact. "Well…I'm gonna go take a drink, want one Light?"

Lightning slightly opened her mouth and gave Fang a quick bob of the head before watching her disappearing from her sight. She clenched her fists and her jaw in anger before looking at her hand in resent but quickly grabbed the glass handed to her to click it with the brunette's before turning around to look at her two daughters giggling with each other, Fang staying still next to her and looking in the exact same direction. "We did a good job, eh?"

"That we did Fang" she answered with a smile, Elia now looking at them both with an amused gaze. "Yeah, we really did a great job."

Before they knew it –or could realize anything- an uncomfortable silence settled between the both, an electric and unnerving feeling building up inside both of their hearts. What had happened to the time, a few weeks ago when they had been talking and had even been able to laugh?

Lightning nibbled on her upper lip as the tension begin to grow harder, her gaze dropping on the ground until it landed on the ring less hand, her saliva becoming difficult for her to swallow and almost had the feeling that paste had replaced the original liquid. "Well, I'm gonna go check on Van. Merry Christmas Light."

Lost in her thoughts, Lightning was only able to answer with a feeble 'hmm' before staggering away from the living room in order to go towards the bathroom, only being able to see a blurry hallway that didn't seem to have an end.


	11. Please, come back

Lightning had a finger on her phone, her nail tapping against the glass for the past ten minutes. She had hesitated a lot of times, wondering if making this call was the right idea. But she knew deep down, deep within herself that she simply had to.

Grabbing the phone in her palm, she pressed on the name and immediately tucked the phone at her ear, her palms sweating as the dreadfulness of the situation became clearer. Taking in a sharp intake of air, Lightning shook her head from left to right, ready to press cancel as the voice rang inside her ear. For a short moment, she had no idea what to say. Should she pretend to have called the wrong person?

'I…uh…Hi!'

'Hey there. This is a surprise.'

'Yeah, I know,' she said as she closed her eyes, 'could you come over?'

'Uh sure. What's up?'

'Nothing. I just want to talk a bit,' Lightning painfully admitted, her hand already reaching for her packet of cigarettes.

'Okay. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, tops!'

Lightning smiled as the connection came to an end. Exchanging the phone for the lighter, she lit her cigarette and inhaled the smoke, leaving it inside her lungs for a short amount of time before blowing it back in the damp air. Running a hand through her hair, she heavily sighed at the notion of her coming to her house so late at night. What had she been doing, really? Had she been on a date and had remained awake because of the excitement? Had she accepted the offer and had already planned to pack her things?

Unable to fake a smile anymore, Lightning stood up from the chair she had been sitting on for a long time and snatching her glass of wine, she began to walk towards the garden. Bare feet touched the humid grass, her toes wiggling as it tickled the sole of her feet. Letting out a faint chuckle, Lightning lifted her gaze up from the ground and looked at the billions of stars spreading across the sky, her cigarette making its way to her thin-shaped lips as a smile crinkled the corner of her eyes. Sucking the air between her lungs, all she did was to watch the immensity of the horizon, looking at the endless possibilities the galaxy offered her, offered them and everyone else.

The galaxy was an unknown world to human-kind. It was something no one could truly understand, that not a single person could figure out. And maybe was it for this reason that people throughout time had been so interested in something so vast and inexplicable. Perhaps was it for the same reason she had decided to call her. Because for all Lightning cared, she had no right to leave them behind, whether being the girls, or simply her.

It was rather selfish to think about such a thing and she knew it deep within herself. She was well-aware of that fact, to ask for someone to stay when _she_ had been the reason why Fang needed to go. _She_ had been the one dating someone else though she had not really cared about Alex, only trying to find of a way to forget about the woman she had loved for fifteen years. _She_ had been the one causing harm to her family, her daughter and _ex -wife_ , the words still tasting bittersweet on her tongue.

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning painfully closed her eyes at the recollection of her memories. She and Fang had met when they were young, maybe too young, and maybe too much in love in a moment's notice. But Fang had meant everything to her, and still meant everything to her. There was no denying that anymore, and as much as she had tried to fool herself, _never_ would she be able to forget her. Because after all, there was no stopping love, was there?

Slowly breathing out, she opened her eyes only to gaze at the stars again, wishing she had made the right choices when they had been presented to her, hoping that somehow, this situation could be fixed. But she had return the ring, that _damned_ ring that had meant everything to her, that silly piece of jewelry that had been the promise of their eternal love she had foolishly given back, and for what? To prove some sort of point that they both needed to move on, or to try and push herself to live again, and to _try_ and find happiness? A happiness she had only felt when she had been around?

Another drag on her cigarette and Lightning was walking back to her balcony, darting at the bottle of wine she had left outside without giving it a proper acknowledgment, now reminded of the glass she had held tightly in her hand. Placing it between her lips, she swallowed a mouthful of her _Chablis_ , a French wine she had grown to enjoy as the years had gone by, the alcohol somehow making it easier for her to prepare herself for the impending conversation she was about to have with her _ex-wife_.

She strode through the living-room, her glass still tightly held by her hand and slowly, Lightning sat down on the couch. Closing her eyes, she let the memories fly through her head. After all, there was no point in fighting them anymore now. She had fucked up, and the damage she had caused were irreparable.

 _Lightning was standing in front of a bar with a cigarette in her hand. For the past two minutes, all she had done had been to gaze at the different people walking before her, judging their outfits and looks, wondering who they were and what they were doing in their lives without really carrying about the answer. It was easy to judge when you did not know a person, and when she had seen her, her chuckle had been noticed. 'Problem?'_

 _Lifting her head up from the ground, she found herself face to face with another woman, her lips pursing to prevent the laughter from escaping her throat, sore from all the cigarettes she had consumed. She stared for a while, only looking at the green eyes piercing through her skull with a hint of aggressiveness._

' _Sorry', she said, 'I guess I drank too much and I'm feeling like judging everyone,' she then admitted with a shrug._

' _And what were ya judgin', exactly?'_

' _Not you to be honest, but your friend. He's trying to hard to flirt with that girl,' Lightning answered as she shamelessly pointed her finger at a man._

' _Oh yeah, he's trying to get in her pants but…'_

' _She's gay,' Lightning amusingly interjected. I noticed._

 _Chuckling, Lightning took a drag from her cigarette and blew it in the opposite direction of the women standing before her eyes. Looking back, she settled her eyes on her eyes, and then her lips, lingering a few seconds before darting away again._

' _Well, I'm gonna go and have a drink.'_

' _Alright, enjoy your evening…'_

' _Fang.'_

 _Letting out a bright smile, Lightning handed out her left hand and waiting for Fang to grab it, she said 'Lightning, pleasure to meet you.'_

' _Ya as well.'_

 _Nodding as their hands stopped to grasp one another, Lightning watched as the woman entered the bar, smiling one last time in her direction as she saw the glance over her shoulder. Sighing, she puffed one last time on her cigarette and threw it further away on the pavement, already heading back towards the entrance of the bar with a grin. Pulling the door open, she immediately made her way towards her two best-friends, Hannah and Diana, the two girls wooing loudly throughout the bar._

 _Shaking her head with amusement, she sat down on the bench and picked up her martini from the table. Immediately taking a sip from her glass, she began to look around the room with widening eyes, trying to find the woman she had talked to previously, because truth be told, she had been stunning. Long brown hair pushed back, a smile like no else possessed and eyes the color of the most precious of jewelries. 'What's up Farron? You seem upset!'_

 _Settling her gaze back on Hannah, Lightning let out a soft laugh. 'Not upset, I'm searching for someone,' she said loudly as the music became an inch louder. 'I don't think I'll find her again!'_

 _'How could you know?'_

 _She shrugged. How could she now, really? All she knew was a name, and yelling it was simply out of the question. Taking another sip from her Martini, Lightning then grabbed the olive from her glass and placed it between her teeth, winking as she looked at her friends. Slowly sucking on the green olive, she felt the core between under her tongue and seductively snatched it between her fingers, letting out a moan of pleasure as it landed back on the table._ _'That was sexy.'_

 _Glancing to her left, she felt a blush creeping on her neck, the red color reaching out to her cheeks as she realized the person she had been looking for had been watching her for god knew how long._

 _'Aw, don't be shy', she said with a wink._

 _'I am not,' Lightning answered as she darted away. 'I'm not.'_

 _'Right. Well, I wish ya a good night then Lightnin'.'_

 _'Aw, you could say you'll see her again,' Hannah teased, amused by Lightning's corporal reaction. 'She's begging for it!'_

 _Throwing a threatening scowl in her best-friend's direction, Lightning wanted to disappear into a black hole. Focusing her attention on her glass, she desperately tried to forget about the three women looking at her until she roughly flinched as a hand touched her arm, her skin burning at the pleasant sensation parkouring her entire body._

 _'Here then,' Fang said with a smirk, 'do what ya will with it.'_

 _'I... I…uh…' stuttering, Lightning cleared her throat, 'I will. Thanks, Fang.'_

 _Settling her stare back at Fang, Lightning let out a faint smile. Focusing on the structure of her jaw, she felt her knees getting weaker the longer she stared, her eyes immediately lowering to gaze at the piece of paper that had been placed before her eyes. Trying to not to show any sort of emotion plaster her face, Lightning only grabbed the piece of paper and tucked it down the pocket of her jeans._

 _There was no doubt she would contact her._

Glancing over her shoulder as the doorbell rang, Lightning sucked the air between her lungs. Hesitating to reach the front-door, she painfully tried to get her thoughts back together as she stood up from the sofa, a trail of smoke spreading behind her back.

Taking in a deep intake of her air, Lighting gave herself the necessary amount of courage by gulping her entire glass of wine, and slowly reached out for the handle of the door. Gently turning it to the right, she pulled it in her direction and gazed at the brunette with the messy, inexplicable hair stood still with an arched brow. Hating her heart for skipping a beat at her sight, Lightning only motioned her hand and let her ex-wife in without uttering a single word.

'Care for some wine, Fang,' she managed to ask with a slightly ragged breath.

'Uh, yeah why not. Just one though, I need to drive home after that.'

Giving Fang a slight nod, Lightning sauntered towards the kitchen. Bringing out a wine-glass, she made her way back to the balcony. Waving her hand to get her attention, she waited until Fang was standing outside before pouring the two glasses of wine and slowly handed her one. As their fingers touched, Lightning's heart began to bleed, the sensation of her fingertips burning reminding her of the first time they had met, and when she had felt the same feeling.

Darting away as her face turned the color of her nail polish, Lightning sluggishly sat down on a chair and gazed at the void. Had asking Fang to come here been the best idea she ever had? She was beginning to doubt it, and as the silence settled in, she knew she had made a mistake.

'So, what's the matter Light,' Fang asked as she took a seat facing Lightning.

'I'm...not sure anymore,' she muttered under her breath with a slight shake of the head. 'I'm not sure talking about it is a good idea.'

'Okay… What's it about then?'

Letting out a sigh, Lightning finally gazed up from her glass of wine and settled her blue colored eyes on Fang. Trying to smile, the task was deeming to be impossible. She was too _sad_ to smile anymore.

'Is it about the girls,' Fang asked as she leaned forward, genuinely worried about the two monsters they had created.

'No, no it's not about them,' Lightning answered. Nibbling on her lower, she decided to simply clear her mind. After all, she had nothing to lose, had she? 'It's about… you are leaving...,' she painfully admitted.

'M'kay, what 'bout it?'

'I...I, uh…' clearing her throat to get rid of her stuttering, Lightning sharply inhaled. 'I don't want you to go.' Closing her eyes, she waited for an answer. And no matter how long Fang would take to give her one, Lightning would wait.

Fang's brows grew degrees higher on her forehead, watching as her ex-wife leaned back in her chair with her eyes deeply closed, the glass of wine automatically reaching her lips for a rather large sip. Had she heard it right? Had Lightning _really_ told her _not_ to go to Australia or had it only been a figment of her imagination?

What Fang couldn't understand however, was the anger that had started to roam around her beating heart. Those words she had once begged to hear had only sounded bittersweet, raw and dry. Those words barely meant anything to her now, and the more she replayed them inside her head, the angrier Fang got. How dared she ask her something like that after everything had happened? After all, Lightning had been the one returning her the ring, she had been the one dating women for god only knew how long, she had been the one, years ago, yelling for her to leave and never to come again. Why should she care about what Lightning felt?

Letting out an angry breath, Fang glanced back at her ex-wife. With her eyes still closed, she stood up from the chair and trudged in direction of the garden with knitted brows, glass in hand. Looking up at the clear sky, Fang let out another sigh, annoyed and resentful.

She hadn't known what to do about the position, if she had to be honest. Of course, accepting it would mean more money and a higher rank she had longed for a long time, but it also meant leaving her daughters behind because god knew they would never be in her care. They had spent their entire life here, in this city, and as Lightning's wage was way higher than her own no matter her position in the company, she _knew_ Lightning would be in their charge. And not seeing Rhea and Elia for months had been an issue crippling her heart.

Lightning however was a person she could now live without. They had collapsed long ago, and Lightning had never shown a hint of compassion towards her, neither when she had moved out nor when she had asked her to try again, three years ago before the papers were signed. And Fang had had enough.

Sharply turning back around on the sole of her boots, Fang made her way back to the table. Gazing as Lightning's eyes snapped back open, Fang could no help herself but to throw the dirtiest look ever in her face. 'I had no intention of going,' she said with gritted teeth, 'but not for _you_. I'm stayin' for the girls and Vanille, no one else.'

Distorted with agony, Fang kept a clear head as she saw the pain plastering Lightning's face. Looking away at her sight, the image of her pain kept coming back like a wave crashing on the shore, pictures of the time they had both lost someone screaming inside her mind. Clenching her jaw, she savagely shook her head from left to right, throwing back the same dirty glare at her ex-wife.

'Ya and I are done Lightnin', she said after swallowing hard.

'We're done?'

'Ya heard me.'

'And why exactly,' Lightning asked with a frown.

'Because this,' she explained motioning her hand between the two of them, 'this isn't workin'. and it will never work again.'

Pained by the words leaving her mouth, Fang was working on automatic and knew she wouldn't stop until their love was finally buried six feet under, never to be dug back.

'What did I do now,' Lightning asked standing up from her chair. 'Uh? Because I asked you not to leave? You thought it was for me?'

'Wasn't it,' Fang snarled.

'Well no, Fang. I'm not that shallow, thank you very much!'

'That would be a first, between ya and me.'

'I beg your pardon? And when exactly have I been a shallow and selfish cunt,' Lightning roared back, her eyes darkening each passing second.

'Your words of that, not mine,' Fang said pointing a finger at her face, 'and when? Oh, maybe when ya didn't even think that _I was hurting too_ ,' she yelled at her face, 'maybe when ya decided to go on your own way, when ya decided, _ya_ decided to put an end to everything by returnin' your fuckin' ring!'

Nostrils flaring with rage, Fang stared at Lightning's face with undivided attention. Hurt, angry, never had they talked about the loss of their child only because both were still mourning the loss of someone they had never had the chance to meet.

'Were you the one carrying him, Fang' Lightning hollered with tears in her eyes, 'were you the one noticing the person you had was dying? I do not think so!' Shaking her head, Lightning swiftly turned around and strode back inside her house. Snatching her packet of cigarettes, she had left on the couch, she managed with shaking hands to place on between her lips, tears already streaming down on her face.

'Ya never let me help ya Lightning! I tried to be there for ya, but you completely shut me out!'

'And _you_ should've known I needed you; Fang! You should've fucking known.'

'Ya weren't the only one in _pain Lightning_!'

Her scream echoed throughout the house. The veins on her temples had started to show and her lips were now quivering with an undefining rage. Only seeing red, Fang took a few steps forward and stopped when their noses grazed, glaring inside her blue eyes.

'I was in pain too,' she roared, 'and ya were selfish enough to dismiss how _I_ felt.'

'I... I didn't,' Lightning muttered, finding harder to keep the eye-contact.

'Ya fucking did,' she said as her finger pushed her on the shoulder. 'I'll never forget that.'

Turning back on her boots, Fang was already snatching back her leather jacket from the kitchen counter. Putting it back on, she felt a hand grasping her by the wrist but roughly pushed it away with a wave of the hand. Glaring once more at Lightning, she grunted in her face and stormed out of the living-room and towards the exit, the front door slamming hard behind her back.

Outraged, broken, devastated, Fang hopped on her black bike and let the engine roar through the night, forgetting about the tears of her turmoil running down on her cheeks. This time, it was a check-mate, and Lightning had lost.

She wasn't quite sure how it had been possible, if it had been a mistake or not, but Serah had been unable to hung up the phone. Having listened to her sister's fight with Fang that had lasted only a few minutes, she had felt an unimaginable amount of pain down her throat and had swallowed her tears back more time that she had been able to count. She understood Fang's point of view, she as much as she had hated to admit it, Fang was right. Lightning had decided to go her own way a long time ago but having listened to her sister's voice, she knew she had been feeling remorseful for everything that had happened. And Fang had this time, dismissed it all.

Sitting at the counter of her kitchen with a warm cup of tea in her hands, Serah had been staring at the void for the past ten minutes, ever since she had listened to the door slamming and her sister howl with agony. Having hesitated to drive to her sister's house, she had however decided to leave her alone for a while and if Lightning needed her, she would be here no matter what. After all, she was her sister, and she loved her with all her heart.

Placing the mug on the counter, Serah ran a hand through her hair with despair. _You and I are done_ , she played back inside her mind, the tone in Fang's voice still managing to send shivers down her spine. Roughly shivering, she felt got out of her skin as a raucous voice called for her name.

'You startled me,' she said with her palm on her heart.

'I couldn't find you in bed. Are you okay?'

Serah shrugged, focusing her attention back on her cup of tea as Snow skirted around the counter to face her. Throwing a small smile in her direction, Serah replied.

'I just overheard a conversation between Fang and Light...Guess it was a butt-call.'

'Okay...And?'

'I think… I think it's really over now.'

Trying to stop the tears from overflowing her eyes, Serah gazed up at the ceiling with a truly broken smile. Sniffling, she was unable to fight as Snow wrapped his arms around her chest, holding her close to his heart and kissing her forehead. Letting out a sob, she dug her face in his arms and unlocked the cage holding back her pain. There had been a part of her that had hoped that one day, they would be together again.

But now, she knew it would never happen. Fang and Lightning would never be friends, let alone rekindle their romance. And the thought brought her closer to agony.


	12. New beginnings

**Hiya! I wanted to thank the people still reading the story, and especially LadyWolvie82 for her help, I really appreciate it. I** **hope you all have a great day!**

* * *

She had never really liked New Year's Eve. There was something about the tradition she found utterly idiotic, not seeing the point to get drunk only because another day passed by. She had never cared about starting a new year she knew would resemble all the others, but today, her mind had changed. Perhaps 2018 would be the year were her troubles would finally stop, where things would change for the better and where her questions would stop pounding inside her mind like a relentless machine. Today, she wanted to make the most of 2017, and think back to everything that had happened.

This year had been both a failure and a success. Now in a relationship with a girl she had fell in love with more than a year ago, Charlotte had been proven to be an exceptional support, her humor always finding a way to erase her tears and replace them with a dazzling smile. They had fought, as any relationship would and had made up, as most usually ended-up. She and her loved each other to the core, and _this_ was the bright-side of everything. Her failures were however in greater number.

Not only hadn't she been able to get their mother's back together, but they had also decided _never_ to speak again unless an urgent matter came to hand, and _this_ had never been what Rhea had wanted. Of course, after the ruckus she had created as she had seen her mom with another woman, her feelings had been hurt, but she hadn't been mad at Lightning because of that. She had been angry because it had been the proof of their love that had died. And _she_ had lashed out where her mum had been unable to.

Sighing, Rhea pressed her cup of coffee to her lips. Now enjoying the beverage that she had once hated, she was waiting in a small coffee shop with a burning cigarette in her hand, waiting for her birth-mother to rejoin with her so they could finally have a chat. Looking to her sides, she then gazed at the cigarette with a frown, wondering if her choice in the matter a good idea after all had been. But as she heard Lightning calling for her name, Rhea knew they both needed to do this right here, and right now.

Glancing over her shoulder, Rhea let out a smile and a wave of the hand, already getting up on her feet to go into a tight hug with her mother. _I missed you, mom_. Taking a step back, she winced as Lightning's blue eyes darkened at the sight of the cigarette but with a wave of her hand, her mother sat down on the facing chair, pulling out her own packet of cigarettes with a faint smile.

'Hey mom,' Rhea sheepishly said. She darted away, feeling anxious about the outcome of the conversation.

'Hello Rhea, it's good to see you.'

Her tone was soft, and a weight escaped from Rhea's shoulders. Brightly smiling, she gazed at her mother whom she hadn't seen since Christmas day, more than a week ago. Though the night hadn't gone particularly wrong, the animosity that had shimmered between them had been noticeable, and Rhea had felt bad. She was her mother and she needed to stop acting like a child.

'I missed you, you know?' Darting back at her mother, Rhea slowly nodded. 'I really did.'

'Me too mom,' Rhea whispered under her breath, 'I'm...sorry. For what I've called you.'

'A bitch,' Lightning asked after clearing her throat.

'Yeah…'

Lightning nodded. As a smile plastered her face, Rhea reached out for her hand and tightly squeezed it, her eyes watering with tears. Sighing at her overly emotional reactions, she brushed a tear away from her cheek and gazed back at her mother with an equivalent smile.

'What are you plans for tonight sweetie,' Lightning asked after placing her order by the waitress. 'Spending it with Charlotte?'

'Yep! I'm going to her place and we've invited a few friends to join. It'll be fun!'

'Really? You never really like this day.'

'Yeah, I know...But I'm thinking that _maybe_ 2018 will be better,' Rhea said with a shrug, 'I guess we'll see!'

Nodding, Lightning gave her daughter a smile. Rhea seemed more mature than when they last spoken, and she knew that Charlotte had something to do with it. Between her two mothers bickering, there was no doubt she was the sole reason for such an improvement in her behavior.

'What are you doing mom,' Rhea hesitantly asked. 'Anything planned?'

'Yes. I'm taking care of your cousin with…' she nibbled on her lip and darted away.

'With Alex?'

'Yes.'

Rhea nodded. She had no longer the right to interfere with her mother's happiness, and if Alex was it, then she simply needed to accept it. She was not pleased, of course, but what else could she do? However, a Rhea looked back at her mother, she couldn't see an ounce of happiness on her face.

'Mom, can I ask you something?'

'Sure?'

'Do you like her,' she asked with a tilted head, 'Alex I mean.'

Observing as her mother ran a hand through her hair and thanking the waitress, Rhea waited for her to find the words she wanted to spill. Sipping on her own cup, she swallowed a mouthful of the lukewarm coffee with her eyes still settled on her.

'I _do_ like her, but I do not see it going anywhere. We are far too different and at my age...I don't know if I want another commitment.'

'You're still young mom,' Rhea said.

'Well, I'm almost forty-six. I'm not getting any younger, that's for sure,' Lightning joked with a small grin.

'Yeah that's nothing! And you're pretty, so.'

Truthfully smiling in her direction, Rhea returned the grin. Unsure of the reason why her smile was brighter than usual, her good mood however dropped the moment she remembered her mum storming back inside the apartment only a few days ago, eyes darker than a storm. She had growled and mumbled under her breath whilst she had pretended to be asleep and had heard her say words she never thought would come out of her mouth.

Looking at her hands holding the mug, Rhea shook her head as a wave of sadness surrounded her heart, fighting the tears from once more leaving her eyes. Feeling her mother's warm hand landing on top of her own, Rhea tried to fake a smile, but her talent as an actress vanished from her thoughts.

'It's all going to be okay, Rhea. One way or another, no matter how long it will take, it _will_ be okay. I promise you that,' Lightning softly said at the sight of her daughter's distress.

'How can you be sure mom…' she sniffled, letting the tear roll down on her cheek, 'it's never been worse.'

'Sometimes Rhea, things need to be at their worst, so they can turn better again. And time is the only key.'

Gazing back at her mother, Rhea gave a faint nod in her direction, quickly digging her face in her arms to hide the pain. But when she listened to chairs being pushed and pulled in her direction, Rhea did not hesitate to go inside her mother's arms to cry some more.

Feeling as her mother's hand brushed her back, Rhea was unable to retrieve herself from her hold. She wanted to be a child again and watch as her two mothers giggled together because of a joke she couldn't understand, she wanted to hear them gasp as they read the same book at the same time and exchange opinions, preferring this character or this one based on their own point of view and personalities. They had clashed sometimes, but nearly always ended up in laughter.

When would they experience this again? When would they be able to look at each other without wanting to tear the other's head apart, and simply laugh for _old time's sake_? Was there a way to continue what she had started only months ago or had the game ended in a draw?

'Mom…,' Rhea mumbled pulling away from the hug.

'Yes sweetie?'

'Can I…smoke?'

Listening to her mother sigh with despair, Rhea only shrugged in return. But as she saw the lighter being handed in her direction, her eyes slightly sparkled. Grabbing the object between her fingers, she slowly brought a cigarette to her lip and carefully lit it, glancing back at the mother with red-rimmed eyes.

Feeling her hand as she wiped of the tears, Rhea's smile doubled. She had her mother back, and after all this was one of the things mattering to her most.

* * *

Elia was with her mum. In the middle of a game of scrabble, the two opponents had shot dirty glares, growled and grunted every time one of them had managed to gather more than thirty points. The score was almost to a tie, and the pressure in their blood had dramatically risen.

Looking at her seven letters, Elia glanced back at the board with a hand running through her hair. What was she supposed to do with three A's, an X, two E's and a T? Tax worked, but the alignment of the letters already on the board made it impossible for her to play the word. She had been meaning to play the word _extra_ , but as her mum had stolen the place where she had been meaning to place her word, her cheek had turned red with anger.

'Ya can give up ya know?'

'I'll never give up,' Elia muttered, 'especially since you have that smug smile! Mum!'

Snickering, Fang winked in her direction. Shaking her head in return, Elia went back to observing her tiles with care, glancing back and forth from the board to the letters until she finally clicked her fingers together. Grabbing the X, T, A and E, she annoyingly placed the letters above an S she had missed and immediately counted her points.

'26,' she said grinning, 'who's losing now?'

'Don't be smug honey,' Fang retorted as she placed a single letter on the board. 'I think…you've lost.'

As her jaw dropped on the floor, Elia threw a dirty glare in her mother's direction. Grunting, she crossed her arms on her chest and darted in direction of the door as keys jiggled inside the lock, surprised to see Rhea coming back so late. Standing up from her seat and leaving her mother to gather back everything without a hint of shame, Elia gave her sister a side-glance, urging her to tell her everything about the afternoon she had spent with their mom.

Noticing as Rhea's eyes had been surrounded by red dots, her heart immediately skipped a beat. They hadn't made up. Lowering her gaze, she felt her wrist being grasp and was forcefully led inside Rhea's bedroom, ignoring her mum gazing at the two of them with knitted brows. Heading towards the bed as her wrist was set free, Elia sat down on the edge and looked at her sister with a cocked head.

'So,' Rhea said, 'Mom and I are fine.'

'Oh, thank god,' Elia replied as she let herself fall on the mattress. 'It was getting tedious.'

'Shut up,' Rhea snapped as she threw her bag on the ground. 'That's not the problem.'

Sitting back up, Elia tilted her head to the side as she watched her older sister turning her laptop on, already seated on her swiveling chair. Patiently waiting, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling as Rhea giggled on the edge of her seat, not needing to pry to know who had texted her.

'Rhea! Spill!'

'Yes, wait I'm just answering!' Rhea tapped the keys of her laptop, quickly focusing her attention back on her sister. 'So. You know mum six days ago?'

'Yeah, you went to my bedroom and cried.'

'Shut up,' Rhea growled, 'I'm putting the plan back in motion.'

Elia kept the stare. Wondering if her sister had taken crystal meth, she cocked her head to the side and waited for some sort of explanation.

'What,' Rhea asked.

'Rhea…' Sucking in the air in her lungs, Elia sighed. 'You need to let it go.'

Perplexed, Rhea leaned forward and said, 'Let go of what?'

'Oh…. this,' Elia said as she waved her hands in the air, 'you know what mum thinks, and you know mom had a girlfriend anyway now. Why are you so persistent to bring the back together when there's clearly no hope left? You'll end up hurting more in the end.'

'You're such a realist,' Rhea roared, 'I'm sorry if I believe things are possible.'

'Well they're not,' Elia snapped as she stood back up from the bed, 'they will never be together again and that's the end of the story!' Reaching the door with haste, she darted back in Rhea's direction facing her again, and yelled 'stop dreaming,' before opening and slamming the door back shut.

Storming through the living-room, Elia ignored her mother once more as she opened up and then slammed her door hard enough for a frame to snap from its hook and shatter in the ground, the abrupt sound making her roughly flinch. Looking at the picture of her family standing happy at the beach when she was only four years old, Elia run a hand through her brown-colored hair and crashed face-first inside her pillow.

Fighting the tears, she giggled on the mattress with her fists clenched, not wanting to feel those feelings again. She knew Rhea meant well, and she knew she was somehow right to try and fix things but there was a moment in life when one had to realize it was doomed to failure. And bringing their two mother back together was a lost cause, plain, and simple. Rolling on her back, she blankly gazed at the ceiling with her arms spread, shaking her head every so often as Rhea's words came back to her mind.

Hitting the bed with her fists, Elia sat back down with her legs crossed at the ankles. Looking at the broken picture on the floor, she slowly stood back up from the bed with a growl and exited her bedroom just as abruptly as she had entered it, throwing a fake smile at her mum glancing over her shoulder with an arched brow. Making her way towards Rhea's bedroom, she brutally opened the door and watched her older sister flinch with terror.

'Okay,' she said after closing the door back, 'what the plan then?'

Beaming, Rhea grabbed her sister by the wrist and pulled them both on the bed, their eyes on the ceiling. 'I'm glad you changed your mind,' she said with a grin.

'Shut up, and just tell me you have a plan. You _do_ have one, right?'

'Well…'

Rolling her eyes, Elia leaned on her elbow as she turned to the side, observing her sister's blue eyes shimmering with delight. Smiling, she gave her a nudge on the shoulder, the two siblings quickly getting into a fit of laughter like they never had. Wiping tears of their cheeks, they both glanced at one another, and silently started scheming for the plan that would surpass each they ever made with the promise that this time, they would succeed.

* * *

'Serah, I know how to take care of a kid,' Lightning said with annoyance, 'Daniel will be fine.'

'I know but…You know, you were the same when you dropped the girls on me!'

'Yeah, yeah', Lightning dismissively answered with a wave of her hand, 'we'll be fine.'

Glancing at her sister and brother in law, Lightning rolled her eyes to the heavens. After having taken care of two girls with a two-year difference, a seven-year-old boy was no threat to her. She wouldn't be alone to watch him anyway as she had warned Serah, so why did she have to make such a fuss about it?

Running a hand through her pink hair, she came closer to the married couple and placed one hand on each shoulder.

'Go, have fun. Alex should be there in a few.'

'Hmm, okay! Call me if anything is wrong!'

'Yes, yes, just go have sex,' Lightning blurted out with a smirk.

Amused by her sister's reddening cheeks, she gave her a small tap on the shoulder and led them both the door with a grin. Kissing them both on each cheek, she watched as they walked back to the car, raising a thumb up as Serah glanced back over her shoulder with concern in her eyes. Waiting for the car to leave, Lightning was only able to sigh with relief. Feeling something pulling on her shirt, she gazed down and smiled at Daniel handing her a flower her had picked up from the garden.

Chuckling, Lightning closed the door back and took the flower between her fingers, the small daisy being face in her direction.

'Thank you, Dan, that's a really nice flower.'

'It's because I love you, auntie!'

'I love you too sweetie.' Running her hand through his blond hair, she grabbed his hand and led him to the living-room, the seven-year-old boy not resisting a single second.

Sitting down on the sofa, Lightning let go of his hand and observed as he sat down next to her. Giggling, the young boy dug his face in her ribs, the touch surprising her.

'Okay Dan, you know that tonight a lady is coming?'

'Is it Fang,' he asked jerking his head up.

'No, it's not Fang,' Lightning answered with a small smile, 'it's someone else.'

'Why?'

Scratching her forehead, Lightning had forgotten how children reacted towards news. They never asked the same questions as adults or teenagers, and Daniel's question struck her heart more than Rhea's. Smiling at her nephew, Lightning pushed strands on her hair away from her face, decided to give him the truth.

'Because Fang and I aren't friends anymore. And you know sometimes you need another friend?'

'Yeah?'

'Well, I need another friend. And that friend is Alex,' Lightning answered.

'Okay! Is she a nice friend?'

Chuckling, Lightning said 'yes, she is.'

Letting the silence settle in, Lightning decided it was time to cook for Daniel, well-decided to put him to bed before Alex would arrive, at nine at night. Getting up on her feet, she strode in direction of the kitchen and pulled a pan out of her drawer, glancing as the boy played with toys on the sofa. A smile reached her lips at his sight, remembering when Rhea and Elia both giggled, telling each other fairytales with a grin. Sighing, she focused her attention back on the cooking, ready for Alex to arrive.

At nine o'clock, Lightning was sitting on the couch with Daniel, the young boy slowly falling to sleep after an exhausting day. Listening to a knock on her door, she quietly stood up from the sofa and made her way towards the front door, readjusting her shirt as she walked pass a mirror.

Sighing to herself for acting like a teenager, Lightning slowly pulled the door opened and gazed at the burgundy haired girl standing still in a dress, champagne and flowers in her hand. Smiling, she pulled the door further away and allowed Alex to enter her house, locking the door as she walked through the hallway.

'Locking me in already love?'

'No one will bother like that,' Lightning teased as she added the chain on the door.

'That's an interesting thought.'

Chuckling, Lightning slowly made her way towards her living-room. Glancing at Daniel sleeping on the couch, she placed a finger at her lips and quietly came closer to the young boy. Grabbing him in her arms, she walked down the hallway of the house and pushed Rhea's door open, only to lie down the sleeping boy under the cover of a bed that hadn't been used in weeks.

Making her way back and keeping the door slightly ajar, Lightning sighed with relief and gazed at the woman sitting on the couch with the flowers now in a vase, and the bottle of champagne waiting for them to be opened. Bringing herself closer, she sat down next to Alexandra and looked deep inside her hazel eyes.

'You're looking beautiful, Alex,' Lightning said with a smile.

'Compared to you, I doubt it.'

Flustered by her answer, Lightning's felt her cheeks slightly burning. Trying to hide her blush by darting away, she however felt thin fingers reaching out to her chin and was pulled into a deep, passionate kiss. It had been the first time she and Alex kissed, and the feeling was overwhelming. Feeling her heart pounding inside her chest, Lightning wondered how the paintings on the walls had remained still. Breathing in her scent, she tasted her lips for a few more seconds before they both pulled away, a similar smile on each of their mouths.

'It's been a while since I've been meaning to do that,' Alex admitted with a grin, 'no regrets.'

'I agree,' Lightning answered nibbling on her bottom lip. 'Thank you for the flowers and the bottle, you really did not have to do that.'

'I most certainly had to. I've been wondering what had happened, you went MIA for a few days…'

'I know,' Lightning said running a hand through her hair, thinking back at the last conversation she has with Fang, 'but it's all good now. And my daughter has finally decided to…well, let me live my life.'

'Ha, that's bloody brilliant,' Alex said with a grin, 'you must be thrilled.'

'I really am.'

Lightning let out a faint smile. She was indeed thrilled to be speaking to her daughter again, but the state of things with Fang's scared her. She had no idea if they would ever talk again, let along being friends but at the sight of where things currently were, she had no hope in the matter. Discretely sighing, Lightning pushed the thoughts concerning her ex-wife away from her mind, focusing her attention back on her date for the night.

Observing as she took the cork off, Lightning managed not to flinch at the sound resonating through the house. Bringing the glasses closer to the bottle, she waited for Alex to pour them both and handed out one of them to her date, a smile plastered on her face.

'Cheers Light. Thanks for having me here tonight.'

'It's my pleasure.'

Clicking their glasses together, they both drank from the Champagne, Lightning's tongue instinctively licking the corner of her lips. With her glass still in hand, crossed her legs and darted in Alex's direction, shaking her head ever so slightly as she looked at the smile plastered on her face.

'So, how is work treating you Alex?'

'Well I can't complain. Though I'll have to go away for two weeks. London needs me apparently.' Alex paused and pursed her lips. 'What about you?'

'It's all doing okay!' Letting out a sigh, Lightning swallowed another mouthful of wine. 'Everything is okay.'

'Say it one more time and I'll believe you,' Alex teased.

Throwing a playful glare in her direction, Lightning shook her head and slowly brought her lips closer to Alex's, the tender touch bringing goosebumps up and down her arms. Deepening the kiss, she carefully placed the glass back on the table and pushed a few strands of her burgundy hair away from her face, a single thought echoing in her mind; no matter who, no one would ever taste the same, and no one would ever bring back the feeling of love she had felt the first time she had kissed Fang.

Pulling away, Lightning expression said it all. Although trying to hide her true feelings, she began to dart away in direction of the rug but felt a finger reaching for under her chin. Softly fixing her gaze upon Alex again, Lightning gave her a quick shake of the head.

'It's okay. I imagine it must be hard,' Alex softly said.

'No, it's fine.' She sucked in the air. 'It's fine.'

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning stood up from the couch, silently excusing herself with a slight bob of the head. Making her way to the bathroom, she managed to keep her vision clear and focused but the minute the door of the bathroom was locked and closed, Lightning placed both of her hands over her eyes, and silently, she wept. The worst day of loving someone was the day that you lost them, and it was finally clear to her that Fang was simply gone.


	13. I Believe You

**I think I should warn you. This chapter and the next one might be triggers for some people because of the topic of self-harm. I'd thought I'd rather warn you of it. I hope you won't find it disturbing.**

* * *

'So, do you have any ideas?'

Rhea flicked open her eyes and groaned inside her pillow. Was Elia seriously barging into her room at seven in the morning already dressed and completely awake?

'Rhea, get your butt out of your bed!'

'Fuck off Elia it's early!'

'It's one in the afternoon…'

Rolling on her bed, she snatched her phone from the nightstand and pressed on the home-button of her iPhone, her eyes widening as her sister had not been lying about the time. Pushing the quilt away, she jumped off the bed and staggered towards the opened-door, slightly pushing her sister on the shoulder as she desperately tried to make her way out of the room.

Gazing at the living-room, she walked in direction of the kitchen and loudly yawned as she turned the coffee-maker on, glancing over her shoulder to gaze at Elia patiently waiting with her arms crossed. Slightly lowering her look to her sleeves that had been brought up to her elbows, Rhea pretend not to see something she had been aware of for a very long time, pain suddenly plastering her face.

'You okay?'

'Yeah,' Rhea said with a faint smile, 'I'm fine.'

Focusing her attention back on her coffee, Rhea let out the faintest of sighs. Self-mutilation was a subject she had found extremely difficult to engage, and when it came to her own sister, every time she had been meaning to bring the topic up, all her words had disappeared from her mouth. All she knew was what she had seen; scars and cuts on her forearms, and some others between her thighs she had spotted when Elia had worn shorts. But never had she been able to figure out what and how to say anything.

She didn't even know why Elia felt the need to physically hurt herself. Was it because of her boyfriend? Was it because of her grades, or even their parents? Her sister had always been a rock when it came to give into her emotions, and the answers to her questions had always remained unanswered. Shaking her head with despair, Rhea snatched her mug from the coffee maker and slowly sat down on a stool surrounding the island of Lightning's kitchen.

Indeed, for the past three days, Rhea had been living with her mother again. Having happened a week after New Year's Eve which had gone extremely well, Rhea had decided it was _finally_ time to come home, and bury the hatchet of war. She and Lightning had talked and shared a bottle of wine, they had laughed and had exchanged their opinions. They had simply been mother and daughter again, and the feeling Rhea had felt had been overwhelming.

'So, do you have a plan,' Elia reiterated as she took a seat in front of her, her sleeves now back to her wrists.

'Well,' Rhea muttered, 'we would need something big. Like they first started talking because of me smoking and everything…'

'So…we need to make something up.'

Pinching her lips, Rhea looked up to her sister and gazed inside her eyes. Letting her hand run through her blond hair, she heavily sighed and closed her eyes, trying to find the right way to blurt out what she had in mind. But really, there was no proper way to say it.

'What about…You?'

'Me? I'm an exemplary student and…'

'I mean your arms.' Rhea heavily swallowed and darted away. 'What's hidden under your sleeves.'

Unable to look at her sister's eyes, Rhea took in a sharp intake of air, trying to muster all the courage she possibly held in store and slowly, let her gaze go up from the table to her sister's chest, finally to be settled on her eyes. Flinching as Elia's eyes were drowned in tears, Rhea immediately stood up from her stool and rushed in her sister's direction, her arms already wrapping around her shoulders.

'I'm sorry Elia…I didn't mean to be blunt.'

'It's not you,' Elia muttered as she fidgeted to get her sister off her shoulders, 'it's just all of this.'

'Yeah…'

Slouching her shoulders, Rhea sat down next to her sister and slowly, she brought her hands to her arms. Feeling a slight resistance from her part, she raised her hands in the air to surrender but when she was about to stand up, Elia's hand landed on her forearm. Looking down, she sat back down on the stool and looked as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt. Frowning Elia stood up from her stool to let the shirt drop from her shoulders to the ground, she patiently waited as Elia looked down at her arms.

But when she turned around with her arms facing upwards, Rhea's heart sank. She had assumed that Elia would only possess a few cuts, but as she stared, she realized that her entire biceps were _covered_ in deep cuts. Closing her eyes at the pain she felt, she shook her head and breathed it to regain her cool, but the sight of Elia's arms was simply one of the worst nightmares she had lived.

'Eli'…'

'I know. I fucked up.'

'Did you get these checked…? They're…deep.'

'No. It bled for a couple of days and I'll have scars, but no need to jump to hospital for that.'

'I…' noticing the daggers being shot at her, Rhea closed her mouth back.

Handing out her hand, she carefully touched Elia's arm and brought the wounds closer to her face, unable to believe what was in front of her eyes.

'Alright... We'll find something else.'

'We don't have to. This is a real problem Rhea, and I know it. I'll…get yelled at.'

'You won't. I'll fucking make sure of that.'

Staring right at her sister, Rhea grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. So many questions were on her mind and yet not one was able to slip from her lips. Looking at Elia, all she could feel was pain.

"Eli'… Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Elia said as she flashed a weak grin, "but yes."

"How long have you… Since when? I…"

"It's been…a few months," Elia answered with a sniffle. "But it's fine, everything's…fine," she continued, her voice trailing off.

Leaning in, Rhea reached out for her cup of coffee but jumped out of her skin as the front-door of the house opened, Elia already snatching back her shirt from the ground before hiding behind the counter of the kitchen. Flushing, Rhea gazed at her mother walking inside the room with an arched brow, carrying bags of groceries in both of her hands.

"You look suspicious," Lightning said as she placed the groceries on the counter, "what did you do?"

"What! I didn't do anything mom," Rhea said, "really."

Glancing over her shoulder, she observed as Elia buttoned the last button of her shirt, her head popping out from behind the island to gaze at her mother, her brows now arched a few degrees higher.

"Hey mom. Sorry I spilled some milk on the ground."

"Oh. Okay."

Discretely raising her thumb in Elia's direction, Rhea silently sipped on her coffee as Lightning began to put away the groceries she had bought. As the fridge was opened, Lightning stood still for a few moments, her head tilting to the side before grabbing the cans of Fanta and Diet coke to place them on the fridge's shelves.

"So, what do you girls want to do today," Lightning asked placing the eggs in the fridge, "movies? Lunch downtown?"

"Mom are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay," she asked looking at both of her daughters.

"No reason. But yes! There's a movie I'd like to see!"

"Oh? What is it?"

Quickly standing up from the stool, Rhea sauntered in direction of her bedroom and snatched her phone from the nightstand with a smile before walking back to the kitchen. Inputting her password, she typed on her screen and looked at the movies being shown in the different movie theaters across town, grinning as the one she had been meaning to see was still being shown.

"It's called Molly's Game," Rhea said as she handed out the phone to her mother, "do you know it?"

"I've heard of it yes, isn't it about that woman who created a poker-gaming…something."

"Yes! What do you think?"

"Why not. Elia, does it interest you as well?"

"Sure! We could grab dinner too?"

"Sure. First what do you say we eat something for lunch?"

Positively beaming, Rhea bounced to her feet and rushed in direction of the bathroom. However, stopping in her movements, she quickly casted a glance in Elia's direction and bit her lower lip as she could now clearly distinguish the pain rushing over her face. How had she not been able to see this pain for months? Had Elia managed to hide it so well that everyone had been oblivious to how she felt?

Fainting a smile as Elia eyes locked with hers, Rhea softly nodded in her direction before disappearing behind the door of the bathroom, images of cuts dancing in her mind. _I'll do whatever I can Elia. I promise you_.

* * *

Vanille had never been one to pry and had never been interested in the drama involving the members of her family and friends, but as Fang had urged her to meet her at Manhattan Beach in downtown Los Angeles, Vanille's interest had been peaked. Not only would it give her the opportunity to see her sister again who had grown conspicuously silent, but also to practice their surfing skills as they had not been on a board for at least four months.

Having arrived at the beach earlier than planned, Vanille passed the time scrolling down her Facebook page with a heavy and _pained_ heart. Looking at pictures of Serah and Daniel playing in their garden, Vanille's heart suddenly began to ache. How long has it been since she had been out with Serah? How long since they had shared a drink on the patio, chattering about their lives and their jobs? And more importantly, how long had it been since they had simply addressed a word to one another without feeling resentful? And would they _ever_ be able to look past everything that had occurred in the past years of their lives?

For so long, and ever since Vanille could remember, she and Serah had shared everything. They had laughed, they had fought, and they had cried, but never had they been _so_ angry that even being in the same room had become unpleasant. And Vanille knew that because of the reasons behind their quarrel, things would not get better any time soon.

"Hey Van!"

Glancing up from her phone, Vanille plastered a smile on her lips she did not mean but perfectly simulated. Tightly hugging Fang, the perfume she smelt form her skin made her brows quirk up, the scent she had never smelled from her sister's skin fitting her surprisingly well.

"How are you Fang? Ready to take it to the sea?"

"Ugh ya have no idea! It feels like ages since I've surfed!" Amused, Vanille picked up the board from the ground and slowly marched in direction of the beach. "Van? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Vanille said with a smile, "a bit tired, work is hectic."

"Tell me 'bout it, it's been non-stop ever since New Year's."

"Right?"

Chuckling, Vanille took her flip flops off and tossed them next to the board as it landed on the warm sand. Looking away, she gazed at the waves crashing further away, surfers already sliding on the water and falling head first deep under. Heavily sighing through her nose, she took her t-shirt off only to find herself in her swimsuit, gazing back at her sister before spotting a vicious spot on her neck.

With widening eyes, Vanille stared at the bruise for a few moments, unable to utter a word. Caught in her action, she sharply gazed away and back at the sea, a soft smile already curling up her lips.

"So," Fang said oblivious of the fact Vanille had seen the mark, "ready to face the wave?"

"Let's see who's better eh?"

Picking up her board, Vanille sprinted in direction of the sea and the second her body was halfway underneath the water, she placed her entire body on the board and pushed herself further away with the help of her hands. Glancing over her shoulder, she beamed as Fang rapidly approached her location and doubling the paste, the two sisters engaged in a contest to declare the winner of their day out.

She and Fang had been surfing for years. Having practiced and attended surfing lessons on the coast of Australia, both sisters had decided to practice their skills together and had, ever since, decided to put everything they had learned into a contest. At a tie, they had continued in Los Angeles in the company of Lightning and Serah, and these memories had been the ones she had held dearest in her heart.

 _Standing still with a beer in a hand, Vanille gazed at the ocean with a bright smile. It appeared so calm now that the sun had slowly started to set, but the laughter echoing from behind were enough to announce the night they would all spend. A night of drinking, laughing and sharing unknown stories under the bright moon and the unclouded dark sky. Chugging the rest of her beer in a few sips, Vanille turned around on her heels and glanced at the young couple, happily enjoying their third year of love._

" _Don't remind me, I can't believe I have my exams in three days and I'm here doing nothing at all," Lightning joked, her cigarette landing between her lips. "you're a bad influence Fang."_

" _The worst there is."_

 _Grinning at their sight, Vanille darted away as the couple exchanged a passionate kiss, giggling as they parted their lips. Looking back at them, the love shimmering from their eyes was enough to light up the sky, and Vanille had never seen such a strong feeling in her sister's eyes, ever before._

 _Vanille had met Lightning two and a half years ago, and though having had some doubt about the girl with the pink-colored hair, she had realized the love she had felt for her older sister, and just this had been enough to change her mind. She had seen the way Lightning had treated Fang, and to say they would spend a long time together was a certainty._

 _"What's your exam about by the way," Serah said as she took a sip from her beer._

 _"Anatomy of the female reproductive organ."_

 _"It's why she knows how to please a woman," Fang said through a grin._

 _"Oh my god Fang," Lightning blurted as her cheeks turned red, "don't tell that to my sister! Or yours!"_

 _Chuckling, Vanille only shook her head with amusement as she darted in Serah's direction. Winking at her new-found friend, she crawled in her direction and sat down next to her, observing the interaction between Lightning and her sister with a bright smile._

 _"What, it's true! You know where to…"_

 _"Fang don't you dare."_

 _"How to touch the right…"_

 _"Fang!"_

 _"Spot."_

 _Bouncing to her feet, Fang was already bolting in direction of the sea with Lightning directly on her tail. Avoiding her playful punches, she gazed at the couple as Lightning was pushed in the sea, falling head-first under water._

 _"Oh my, Light isn't going to be happy," Serah snorted as she stood up to gaze at the scene, handing out her hand for Vanille to grab it._

 _Standing up, they both crossed their arms on their chests and slowly made their way in direction of the sea as well, the laughter of both Fang and Lightning bringing a equally bright smile to their lips. Finally reaching the sea, the fresh water gave Vanille shivers down her spine, her eyes looking off at the vast horizon before feeling a push on both of her shoulder, she too falling head-first inside the water._

 _Surprised but amused, she stood up from the ground and threw a playful glare in Serah's direction before sprinting on her tail along the shore. These friends were her new family. And never would she give them up._

Sitting on her board, Vanille glanced at the horizon and let her hands graze the fresh water of January. Oblivious of her sister now gazing at her with knitted brows, Vanille laid down on the board and pushed herself further away towards the biggest waves before getting into position and pushing herself back up, water and wind sending shivers down her legs and making her desperately crash under the wave.

She remained under the water a few moments, forgetting about the world surrounding her and the troubles that had taken a bigger toll than she had expected. Swimming back to the surface, Vanille swam back in direction of her board, now bored with their surfing session only after thirty minutes. However not focused on surfing at all, Vanille let the waves pushing her closer to the shore with a tight frown, unable to shake away the bad feelings and emotions that had swallowed her heart whole.

Jumping from the board, Vanille pulled it further away on the sand before sluggishly sitting down with her toes still in the water, gazing away at the few surfers still determined to take on the waves. Fang was amongst them, but Vanille could see from the distance the shape of her eyebrows heavily slanted and knew from the look on her face that a conversation was already brewing.

Sighing to herself, she pushed the sand away with her hand, watching the hole she created being filled with water before the water was absorbed by the sand, a weak smile managing to crinkle the corner of her lips. For a few moments, her mind trailed off. Not thinking of anything in particular, she only absentmindedly gazed at the ocean, listening to the sounds of laughter echoing on the beach, the waves crashing up against the shore before finally, Fang arrived.

"Hey! What's the matter? I've never seen ya like…this. All moody."

"I'm just thinking," Vanille said after a deep intake of air, "thinking about it all."

"O-kay. That sounds deep. Tell me more."

"First, I have a question," Vanille said as she gazed at her sister. "What's this," she asked pointing at the mark on her neck.

Exploding into a fit of laughter that surprised her, Vanille could only stare as Fang covered her face. Arching her brow at her sister's reaction, she patiently waited for an answer.

"It's not what ya think. Rhea has a straightener and she forgot it. So…I thought I'd give it a go and ended up…burnin' myself."

Biting her lower lip to prevent her own laughter from escaping her lips, Vanille slowly nodded. But deep down, she would've preferred to hear about a potential lover, someone who would finally take the pain away from Fang's heart. But for some reason, she could see a small shimmer of hope inside her sister's green colored eyes, something she had lost in the last three years that slowly, but surely, was starting to crawl its way back. Maybe there was hope, after all.

"Your turn. What's gotten ya down?"

"Well," Vanille started after a sigh, "it's just…I miss Serah. I haven't seen her since Christmas and even then, we were distant…"

Swallowing back her tears by gazing at the sky, she felt her mouth began to tremble. "And everything just went so wrong so fast… I don't understand anything. I'm not sure I even want to understand… I'm just…So sad."

Admitting herself this matter for the first time in weeks, Vanille closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek, her head immediately falling back. Shuddering, she did not fight the arm wrapping around her shoulder. She wanted things to go back the way they once were. But was it even possible anymore?

* * *

Stepping out of the movie theater with an arched brow, Lightning patiently waited as her two daughters giggled and chatted about the movie like kids after a _Pokemon_ episode. Truth be told, she had _enjoyed_ the movie. Perhaps had it been thanks to Jessica Chastain, an actress she had always found to be stunning, but the idea of a woman managing a world filled with idiotic men with elegance had certainly spoken to her, but the way the entire movie had been handled had clearly made its way to her heart.

"So, mom! What did you think?"

"I enjoyed it quite a lot," Lightning said as a cigarette landed between her lips. "What about you girls?"

'Yes,' they both said in unison, grinning to one another. "It was awesome," Rhea then continued. "I looove that actress!"

"Yes, I like her as well. She was in a movie called Miss Sloan that would interest you too. She's basically the same type of strong female lead you could enjoy," Lightning said as she headed towards her SUV. "You should watch it. I think I have it on my laptop."

"Neat!"

Smiling, Lightning pressed on her keys and sat down behind the steering wheel, making sure her two girls were in the car before turning the engine on. Exiting the parking place, she drove towards the beach with the sound of music in her ears, Rhea already gaining control of the radio without having a say in it.

Bouncing her head at a song she recognized, Lightning hummed as she drove, unware of the strange looks her daughters were throwing in her direction. She finally noticed at a red light, glancing back from Rhea to Elia with an arched brow before finally, she loudly sang.

" _First things first Im'ma say all the words inside my head!"_

Quickly joined by Rhea and Elia, Lightning continued singing, pitched-perfect once more oblivious of the knowing look both of her daughters were exchanging before Rhea suddenly exclaimed herself. "Mom! By the way! Erm… I bought two tickets to see Imagine Dragons with Charlotte in a few weeks… I didn't ask you because we were…we weren't talking but can I go?"

Chuckling, Lightning softly shook her head. "Of course. You're old enough to go to a concert with your girlfriend without your parents nagging you."

"Thanks mom!"

With a soft smile, Lightning drove faster down the street before parking the car in front of the restaurant she had chosen, winking at both of her daughters as she unclipped her belt and took the keys out of the ignition. Stepping out, she let the fresh wind brush the nape of her neck as her two girls escaped the car. Flinching as they both grabbed one of her hands, she squeezed them both with a smile before making her way towards the entrance of the building.

Nodding at the waiter, she gave her name and was led to her table followed by her girls, taking a seat with a smile. Taking her coat off and hanging it on the back of her chair, she slowly sat down, gazing at her daughters sitting in front of her; whispering to each other. Arching a brow at their sight and unable to comprehend the conversation, Lightning drew her attention to the customers of the restaurant, gazing at the with half-of-a-smile before a waiter finally came into view.

"Hello ladies, I'm Mark your waiter for the evening. What would like to start with?"

"We'll have a bottle of wine and whatever Elia feels like drinking."

"A coke," she quipped.

"Coming right up!"

Nodding once more, she gazed back at Rhea and Elia. She could feel a heavy atmosphere between them, her brows immediately snapping as her younger daughter avoided eye-contact. Hell-bent on avoiding any kind of hurtful topics during the night, her motherly instinct however took a step forward. "Elia? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine…" Her voice trailed off and uneasiness settled inside Lightning's body. "It's good."

"Elia."

Rhea's voice was strong and directive, Lightning's doubts grew increasingly higher. Fidgeting at the edge of her seat, she suddenly forgot how to use her hands, unware of what to do with them. Shifting from Elia to Rhea, she only stared, waiting for something she knew would not be pleasant. _Is she pregnant?_ Immediately, her cheeks heated, and her gaze settled back on Elia.

"What's going on," she asked with a ragged breath, her hands starting to shake as the waiter came back with the beverages.

Pouring only one glass, Lightning grabbed it and gulped it completely, unable to figure out what it tasted like as the thump in her throat had increased. "It's great," she said without tearing her eyes away from her daughter, "thank you."

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

Looking up at Rhea, the pain in her eyes was strong and intense. "What's going on?"

"I… I have something to tell you." Swallowing hard, Lightning leaned in. "It's complicated."

"Alright?"

A weight placed itself on her shoulders. Unable to figure out what was truly happening, Lightning started to sweat, stress and anxiety filling in the holes in her body as Rhea elbowed against the table, drinking the glass that had been allowed in a single swallow.

And it came like a bomb destroying everything. "I'm cutting myself."


	14. Happy Hurts

The words sank in, slowly, and painfully. For a few seconds, Lightning's mind went adrift, only being able to stare at Elia without remembering how to breathe. How should she use her lungs? Was she supposed to breathe in through her mouth, or her nose? And why was the room suddenly so warm, as if the head of the restaurant had decided to turn the temperature up?

 _"Mom?"_

She listened to the voice sounding like an echo, her eyes settling on Elia's lips as the word was once more repeated, her head severely spinning as she looked back to her eyes. Green color sparkled but pain was the only expression mirroring from them. A pain all but too real. It took her a few more moments for the words to be correctly printed, interpreted and adjusted, and the more they played back, the more reality came kicking-in.

"Elia." What should she say? What could she say? Lightning was at a loss. "Let's get out of here. This is not a conversation to have at a restaurant," Lightning said as she got up from her chair.

Dizziness stroke again, her vision blurring as she came closer to the waiter. Pulling out her wallet, she pressed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter and sharply turned back around, observing as Elia and Rhea made their way in her direction, their fingers intertwined. _I'm cutting myself_. Vicious words resonated, pressing against her temples. Her blood boiled again, and needing the air, Lightning exited the establishment without looking back.

The fresh air of an evening in January immediately lowered her body-temperature, her cheeks feeling less warm now that the wind swept across her face.

"Mom?"

Turning around, her gaze settled on Rhea, eyes glassy and worried as she stared longer. "Rhea, on our way home order pizza? Does that sound okay to you two," Lightning asked, glancing back and forth in their direction.

"Yeah it's…it's cool." Turning back around, Lightning felt a grip on her wrist. "Mom are you okay?"

Hesitantly, she turned around. "Yes. But as I've said, some conversations need to be held privately." Trying her best to keep a positive attitude, Lightning pressed her hand on Elia's shoulder and pulled her closer in her arms. "I love you," she whispered after a kiss on her forehead. "Let's go home."

Feeling a slight nod pressing against her chest, Lightning pulled away and unlocked the doors. Stepping behind the wheel of the black SUV, she slammed the keys in the ignition but waited a few more moments before turning them, her mind still replaying those words.

They were words Lightning had never wanted to hear, and for some reason, she believed she had heard them all. She had been told _we're done_ , _I don't love you_ , _the baby is gone_ , _I'm drinking and smoking, these are the papers for the divorce_ , _Daniel is epileptic, Vanille got dumped_ but these words had been the worst she had ever heard because they had been the ones she had expected the least.

Self-harming was a world she did not understand. She knew some young people were doing it, relentlessly for some, but the reasons behind had always been obscure. She had read articles about self-harm only to cause a masochist pleasure, others to cope with pain or even anger, and sometimes, people self-harmed because they felt the _need_ to punish themselves for something they had done. And now, Elia was a part of one of those, and the answer Lightning would get terrified her, no matter which one it would be.

Shaking her head ever so slightly, the engine was finally turned on, and Lightning exited the parking place. Listening to Rhea's conversation on the phone with the pizza-man, she glanced up at the rear-view-mirror and fainted the smallest of smiles in Elia's direction as their eyes locked. _Pain_. It was all she could see, a pain she had been oblivious to for…God only knew how long. And Rhea, as it appeared to be. _Fuck._

Unconsciously, Lightning pressed harder on the pedal, making her way up to the hills as fast as she could. Although fearing the conversation, she needed to know. She needed to realize how her daughter felt, and she needed to try and help her however she possibly could. She had once heard Fang say to Vanille words that had never made more sense than today. Because for her family, she too would _tear down the sky._

The rest of the way home was spent in silence, heavy and unsettling, but a silence that had been needed. Whether it came to Lightning, Rhea or Elia, the three of them needed to think and to be prepared, Elia being the one necessitating more time and preparation before stumbling home. Lightning was not blind on the matter and knew how hard and painful this evening was going to be for her. But no matter what, Lightning would not push. She would listen. And only listen.

"Alright," she said as the car came to a stop in front of the house, "pizza is here in…?"

"Thirty minutes. So, ten now, basically."

"Great." Exiting the car, she waited for both Rhea and Elia to be out before locking it back. "Let's go then."

Sucking in the air between her lungs, Lightning held out her breath until she was back between her walls, immediately going towards the kitchen to bring a bottle of wine out of the fridge. However, the longer Lightning gazed at it, the worst her decision seemed to be. This was a conversation she needed to have _sober_. Alcohol could wait.

"Mom, can you pass the Fanta?"

"Sure." Grabbing the bottle, she handed it to Elia, noticing her shaking hands but refraining herself from making any comments. "I'll grab…" The bell chimed, Rhea already bouncing back to her feet. "Wallet is in my purse. Don't forget the tip."

"Yep!"

Sighing to herself, Lightning picked up three colored glasses and walked in direction of the living-room. Placing the glasses on the coffee-table, she sat down on the floor an retrieved her high-heels, neatly placing them further away before the scent of the three freshly-made pizza quickly invaded her house, her stomach grumbling in response.

"We're eating…here?"

"Yes, I figured the dining table might be too formal," Lightning replied as she noticed the sparkle of delight in Rhea's eyes. "We won't make a habit of this though."

"We used to eat here before," Rhea said as she sat down on the other end of the table, "with a movie or a TV show."

"Would you like to watch a TV show while we're eating?"

"Can we," Elia sheepishly asked. "I'd prefer if we could…for now."

"Of course. Rhea, I'll leave you to it, I have no idea what you girls are watching at the moment."

"Well, the Big Bang Theory's new episode is out…Do you mind?"

Lightning motioned her hand at the TV, letting her daughter handle things. Watching this or any other TV show did not matter to her, as the only thing she kept her focus on was her daughter. During their entire dinner, she gazed from her pizza to the TV and back to Elia, fighting the urge to gaze longer at her younger daughter. And what made her feel even worse, was the fact that she wanted, no, _needed,_ for this conversation to be over with when she shouldn't.

"Mom?" Lifting her eyes up from her pizza she had barely touched, Lightning focused her attention on Elia, who now stared at her hands. "I'm sorry… I'm so—sorry."

Lightning flinched as Elia loudly sobbed and jumped on the side to grab her daughter in her arms. Holding her tightly, she felt Elia's neck starting to sweat the more the tears overflowed, and soon enough, her own cheeks turned wet. "You have nothing, _nothing_ to be sorry about Elia. Nothing." Pressing a kiss on top of her head, she threw a panicked gaze in Rhea's direction who had too, started to cry. "I need to…ask you some questions Elia," Lightning said as she swallowed the words like rotten food, "therefore, I am the one who is sorry."

Without pulling away, she stroked Elia's biceps with her finger, fighting as hard as possible to keep her emotions in check, stopping the tears from falling down on her cheeks again. Slowly breathing in and out, she kissed Elia again and softly moved on the floor, grabbing both of her daughter's hand as their gazes locked. She had no idea how to start the conversation. How should she, really? Was there a right way to talk about this?

"How long… Since when…" _Get a grip. This is your daughter._ "How long have you been causing yourself harm Elia?"

"It's been…a few months. Four."

Staring at her daughter, Lightning wanted to slap herself across the face. How had she not realized anything? "When… How did it start?"

Elia stood up from the ground and threw herself on the couch, her knees close to her chest and her arms wrapping around them. "I was…sad. And I—wanted the pain to—to go away."

Like a punch to the heart, Lightning felt the pain her daughter reflected in her eyes. She wanted to scream at herself, she wanted to go back in time and change things, she wanted to be there for her daughter when she had clearly been absent. Standing up from the ground as well, Lightning slowly sat down on the couch, her hand landing on her knee. "How… In how much danger did you put yourself in?"

Her jaw settled at her question, noticing the rapid eye-contact between her two daughters as Rhea stood up. Swallowing hard, she retrieved her hand, chewing on her lips as Elia slowly brought her sleeves up to her elbows but was, for now, unable to glance in their direction.

With fists clenched, she slowly drifted her attention back to her daughter's eyes and let them wander down to her chin, shoulder until eventually, she saw. And never, would she forget.

* * *

Lightning had been standing in front of the living-room window with red-rimmed eyes. For an hour, she had not been able to stop crying, the pictures of Elia's arms still ragging inside her mind like a tornado. Sharply closing her eyes, she brought her glass to her lips with a shaking hand, the wine nearly spilling over the edges as she pressed it to her lips before swallowing a big, necessary mouthful.

Elia _was_ cutting herself. Elia self-harmed, and had been self-harming for months, and _she_ had been oblivious to this fact. _She_ had been so focused on anything else but her family that even her daughter's pain had been invisible to her eyes, or to anyone's eyes, for that matter. And now, Lightning needed to call Fang. And she was in no mood to meet with her ex-wife and kids to talk about such an issue, especially when the tension was running high. But it was her duty as a mother, and if there was something Lightning now refused to do, was to fail at that.

Opening up her eyes, Lightning turned around and placed her glass on the island of the kitchen, exchanging it for her cellphone she immediately pressed against her ear, shivers running down her spine the more chimes she heard.

" _What?"_

Pressing her lips together, Lightning tried to forget about the dry, irritated tone coming from the other end of the phone. "You need to come here."

" _Why?"_

"Because it's highly important, and you need to be here for your daughter, Fang."

There was a silence for a couple of seconds which seemed like an eternity. _"I'll be there in twenty."_

Ready to speak up, Lightning slightly flinched as the conversation was abruptly put to an end, her hand falling back on her hip. Sighing, she tucked the phone down her pocket and called out for her two daughters, watching as they both simultaneously bounced out of their respective rooms.

Focusing her attention on Elia more than anything else, Lightning shook her head ever so slightly, the urge to cry rushing back like salt spread down on a wound. Pinching her lips, she grabbed her glass back and motioned her hand in direction of the living-room before sitting down on the couch with a cigarette already tucked at her lips. The amount of anxiety she felt would not fade away until…Even she, could not say.

"I called your mum," she said in a whisper as Rhea and Elia took a seat next to her, "she's coming in twenty minutes."

"To…talk?"

Looking at Elia, Lightning slowly nodded. "Yes, to talk. And explain…everything." She breathed in, annoyed by her own words. "About you, Elia."

Reaching out for her hand, Lightning gently squeezed it, trying as hard as she possibly could to be the rock Elia desperately needed. But from what she knew, _she_ had never been the rock in the family. Fang has. And her presence was important.

"Mom? Are you mad at me?"

"Am I…Mad?" Dumbfounded by her younger daughter's question, Lightning was only able to stare for a few moments. How could she be mad at her? How could she possibly feel angry when she was clearly suffering? "I'm not mad. Not in the slightest Elia. I'm concerned, and I'm going to…no," she said softly, " _we_ , as a family, are going to do everything we can to help you because we _love_ you."

She watched as tears overflowed her daughter's eyes and did not fight when one rolled down on her own cheek. Instead, she wrapped her arm over Elia's shoulder and pulled her closer, making sure her burning cigarette was far from her skin. Pressing a kiss on her forehead, she held tightly onto her crying daughter, her sobbing filling in the quiet atmosphere they had all settled in.

"I love you so much, Elia. So, so much. Do not ever forget that."

"I love you too, Mom," Elia managed to say between two sobs, "thank you."

Holding her closer, Lightning slowly reached out for the ashtray but instead of flicking the ashes in it, she dropped it on its edge and pulled Rhea on her other side, holding the two dearest gems she had closer to her heart. How she had wished for Fang to be there and join them in the hug. How she had wanted to— _No. Do not go there again. This is not about you, Lightning_.

Letting out a ragged breath, she sniffled as an additional tear rolled down on her cheek. She had found it hard to put a word on their situation, Fang's, Elia's, Rhea's and her own, but now, the word was crystal clear. Things were _fucked_ and buried so deep that only strength, time and a _fucking_ amount of energy would take, and she was willing to give it her all, even if it meant putting sleep on the side for the next following weeks, months or even years. She would do _anything_ for her family.

Snapping her eyebrows, her thoughts surprised her as much as they pained her. _Why couldn't you think that when he died? Have you always been this selfish? Is Fang right? Am I only thinking of my own-self…?_ Holding out her breath, a fake, angry smile curled up her lips, _just like you're doing right now_.

"Rhea? Your birthday is coming up," Lightning said as she tried to push away her thoughts, hopping the atmosphere would change, "do you want to do anything?"

"Well…Mum is going to leave me the flat, so I can invite a few people… We talked about it when you and I weren't talking."

"Oh, very well. Eighteen soon after all, aren't you?"

"Yes! Well, it won't change anything really…"

"Well, think of it that way. In three years, you won't need a fake ID," Lightning teased with a grin. "I hope you stopped using it…"

"I promise," Rhea said as she pulled away from the hug, her palms facing upwards. "I swear."

"Good."

 _At least one problem gone._ Glancing at Elia still hugging her tightly, Lightning let out a soft, warm breath before pressing a kiss up to her forehead again. She loved her daughter so much, words were unable to describe it. She wanted her safe and sound, she wanted her happy and content with her life. She wanted to give her the world, so she could cast her sadness aside and replace it with the happiness she deserved.

* * *

Anger rushed through her veins once more as she stopped in front of the door. She had seen the lights of the kitchen, living-room, and dining-room being turned on, as well as the one of Rhea's bedroom which had led her to the conclusion that Rhea and Elia were both home, and that Lightning had not decided to drag her here with some pretext only to throw the same tantrum that had occurred a week ago. But even still, standing here, Fang was _pissed_.

Never had she felt to reluctant about knocking on the door, a gesture she had done so many times with hope in the previous years. And now, all she wanted to do was to turn around and drive back to her apartment. But being _family related_ , Fang's presence was needed, and she was willing to put her differences with Lightning aside to talk about a topic which had clearly rattled her ex-wife, based on the tone of voice she had heard on the phone.

How she wished to go back twenty years ago and knock on the door with a bright smile. Why did everything had to change?

 _Her palms were sweaty, and her stomach was churning. She had been on dates before, she had seen women and been with women but when it came to Lightning Farron, something was different. Perhaps had it been the look in her eyes when they had first talked, or perhaps had it been the touch of her skin in her palm when they had shaken hands. But something, something important, made her feel nervous enough to fear the outcome of the night. Because all Fang wanted, was to spend the night with a lovely, smart and interesting woman standing only a few feet away from her location._

 _Breathing in, and out, Fang raised her hand in the air and knocked three times against the wood before jumping backward, listening to the sound of footsteps coming closer to her position. Counting to ten in her head, she managed to cool down only for those ten seconds, her breath escaping her lungs as Lightning opened up the door with one of the most dazzling, beautiful smiles she had ever seen. And once again, Fang's heart missed a beat._

" _Hiya Fang," she said with a shy, adorable smile, "come on in!"_

 _Nodding, Fang entered the Farron household, amazed by the size of the house as she took a few more steps in direction of the main rooms. "Hi Light. How are ya?"_

" _I'm good! How are you?"_

" _Same, same."_

 _Turning around, she locked her gaze with Lightning's, blue eyes trying to settle on anything but her own as a blush crept up her neck and invaded her cheeks. At least, she wasn't the only once feeling nervous about the night._

" _I brought wine," Fang said as she pulled out a bottle of Chardonnay from her bag, "I hope you like white?"_

" _I do, and I love Chardonnay." Handing out her hand to give the bottle, their fingers touch and Fang's heart pumped the blood as hard as a drilling machine. "Do you want to try out yours, or mine first?"_

" _Yours, it'll be fresher I'm sure."_

" _Coming right up! Make yourself at home, the living-room is right this way."_

 _Following the finger's line of sight, Fang slowly nodded again and sauntered in direction of the living-room. Vast and bright, the TV was set on a shelf surrounded by video-tapes, books aligned on a shelf behind the electronic device, whilst a few papers were spread on a nearby desk. Glancing at the leather-made couch, Fang sat down on and it gazed at the rest pf the room, her eyes immediately settling on a record-player standing a little further away, boxes filled with vinyl stuffed underneath._

" _Here you go," Lightning said as she emerged from the kitchen. "Do you mind if I put some music?"_

" _Not at all."_

" _Do you have a preference," Lightning asked as she sauntered towards the record-player, a smile crinkling up the corner of her lips as she glanced in Fang's direction._

" _Not at all. Can I ask what model it is?"_

" _What model?"_

" _The record-player? Mind if I come and take a look."_

" _Not at all!" Fang chuckled. They seemed to be going on repeat._

 _Bouncing to her feet, Fang nearly ran in direction of the device, looking at it with sparks in her eyes. She recognized the model like her own reflection, impressed by such an amazing piece of machinery costing more than 200 dollars, its wooden surface giving the proper vibration when playing the vinyl inserted. And for tonight, Lightning had chosen a Frank Sinatra, and the choice truly surprised her._

" _Is something wrong?"_

 _Glancing at Lightning, Fang softly shook her head. "No, I didn't know ya were the jazzy kind of girl," Fang answered as New-York, New-York started playing._

" _I love Jazz. Always have, and probably always will."_

 _As Lightning chuckled, Fang couldn't help but to look in her direction. The sound of her laughter was soft, and she found it beautiful. She probably didn't think long enough before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her closer, starting a dance on the song her date clearly seemed to love but it didn't matter._

 _The minute Lightning wrapped her arm around her waist, Fang found it impossible to look elsewhere. She wanted to drown in the blue color of her eyes and wanted to feel the touch of her lips on her own. But she knew she couldn't. All things would happen as they would be meaning to happen and rushing into anything was not something Fang had in mind. When it came to Lightning, she wanted to take her time and get to know the woman who had captured her heart with one single glance._

" _You're a good dancer," Lightning said with a smile, letting Fang lead the dance._

" _Weirdly enough I never like to dance," Fang answered, "but I don't know, I felt like it tonight."_

" _I'm glad you did."_

 _Chuckling once more, Lightning and Fang both pulled away as the song ended and simultaneously went back to the couch. Grabbing their drinks, they gazed at one another before clicking them, swallowing a mouthful of the tasty, fresh wine._

" _Cheers Fang."_

" _Cheers Lightnin'. Thanks for…invitin' me. And not throwin' my number away."_

" _Oh. I never had the intension to throw it away. Trust me."_

 _Fang trusted her. And the look in her eyes said it all._

Sighing to herself, Fang raised up her arm and knocked two times against the door, her fist white from the tension she had put. It wasn't long before the door opened, Rhea giving her a smile before jumping in her arms.

"Hey Mum!"

"Hey monster. How are ya? What's goin' on?"

"Comein Mum."

Fang arched a brow as the chirpy tone faded away from Rhea only to be replaced with worry and fear. She entered the house she had once loved, feeling like a stranger between the walls where love had been spread, and hatred had emerged. But when she saw Lightning sitting on the couch with Elia in her arms, Fang's stomach turned upside down. Something was wrong, and something big had happened.

Slowly making her way towards the living-room, she watched the bottle of wine barely touched on the coffee-table along with boxes of pizza and glasses of Fanta. And when Lightning turned her attention to her, she knew her ex-wife had been crying and had not been able to hide it.

"Hiya Fang." Her voice was coarse, devoid of emotions. "Thanks for coming."

"Well ya said it was important," Fang answered with a tone she hadn't meant to be so aggressive. "What's goin' on?"

"Why don't you sit down?"

Watching as Lightning stood up from the couch, only then did she properly caught a gaze from her daughter, her red cheeks and red eyes announcing something she knew she would not want to hear. Glancing back at Lightning who was now chugging her glass of wine, Fang sat down next to her daughter, her shoulders starting to tremble as their eyes locked again.

Looking up at Lightning, Fang's brows furrowed. "There's something… Something we need to discuss. As a family and cast our differences aside, Fang," Lightning finally said, "its…" her voice trailed off as she swallowed her tears. "Important."

Fang knew she shouldn't have felt insulted by what Lightning had said, but for some reason, she felt like being treated like a child ready to throw a temper-tantrum at any given moment, and the hate in her eyes as she looked back at her ex-wife said it all. But, managing to swallow back her pride, Fang only nodded, focusing her attention back on Elia as Rhea sat down on the other side of the couch.

"Mom…can you? Please?"

Fang winced as Elia fought back her tears, throwing a panicked glance in Lightning's direction. "Sure sweetheart." As Lightning came closer and knelt down on the floor in front of Elia, Fang's heart accelerated drastically. "Fang," Lightning said with a cold tone, "Elia has been…Elia…Fuck."

Nervousness settled inside Fang's core before Rhea spoke up. "Elia mutilates herself."

Rhea had spoken in a whisper, but it had felt like a scream of sheer agony. Throwing back a gaze at Lightning who's tears had already started to shed, Fang was unable to speak. She simply gazed at them all before rubbing her entire face in her palms, sharply bouncing from the couch with wobbling knees.

"I…"

"She's been doing it for months," Lightning said. "This is why I wanted you here. You needed to know."

"I…Yeah. Thanks, Lightnin'." She meant her thank you. "I don't…understand." Sharply turning back around, she looked at Elia, her heart sinking at the look in her eyes. Rushing back in her daughter's direction, Fang pulled her closer and let her cry, closing her eyes as her own heart cried as well.

"Elia agreed to go and talk to a psychologist. She came up with the idea before you got here."

"A psychologist? They're full of shit," Fang aggressively said as she pinned her stare upon Lightning. "Charlatans."

"Fang, let's not."

Breathing in, Fang fought back her anger. Lightning was right. This wasn't the time nor the place, but a discussion would be needed between the two of them. And this conversation needed to be soon. "Eli'? I love ya. I love ya so damn much and…your mother and I are going to do everything okay? Everything." Pulling her closer, she gave Rhea a knowing look.

"Eli', let's go for a while?"

"Okay… But mom, mum?" Jerking her head up to her daughter, Lightning and Fang both gazed in her direction. "Please…don't fight."

Fang shook her head, pressing a kiss on Elia's forehead before pulling her tightly into another hug before letting her go, standing up to glare at her ex-wife. _I can't promise you this Elia. I really can't._

* * *

The tension in her shoulders was painful as she stood still in the garden with her glass of wine in hand. Waiting for Fang who had excused herself to go to the bathroom, it had given her the time to mentally prepare herself for the conversation neither of them wanted to have. Closing her eyes, she only listened as the window was pulled open, and pushed back closed, gathering her strength to turn around and face the woman who, only a week ago, had taken down the King on her chessboard.

Letting out a deep breath, finally, Lightning spun around on her heels and gazed at Fang now seated at the table, her gaze dark and focused on her own glass of wine.

"Do ya ever feel like when ya get bad news, they just won't stop comin'?"

Surprise by her tone, or lack of, Lightning sat down on the opposite chair and crossed her legs under the table. "Yeah, I do." She paused for a while, finding it hard to find the right words. "What should we do?"

"I don't know Lightnin'." There it was, the resentment drooling from her tone. "I doubt a psychologist will help."

"How can you know? She needs to talk, and she will not talk to either of us."

"Why is she doing this? Did she tell you?"

Shaking her head, Lightning let out a breath. "She told me she felt sad and that… The pain helped her escape that pain."

She glanced back at Fang as a ragged breath escaped her lungs, the features of her face sharp and cutting like the edge of a razor.

"Fang?" Waiting for her ex-wife to look up, Lightning formulated her question ten times inside her head until finally, their gazes met. "Do you think it's our fault?"

"I haven't got a clue," Fang painfully admitted. "Maybe? When did it start exactly?"

"Elia said four months…"

"Okay." After another swallow, Fang repeated; "okay. Have ya…have ya seen?"

Flinching at the question, Lightning narrowed her eyes and stared at the table, her hand gripping her glass clenching hard enough for the glass to nearly explode. "I have," she whispered. "It's…important." Letting go of her glass, she traced several lines going from her wrist to her elbow, "and on both of her arms."

"Fuck," Fang whispered. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_! I can't believe we let this happen! What are we, blind?"

"I don't know Fang. I've been asking myself the same question. Which is why I think that a…"

"Say psychologist Lightnin' and I will…I will leave this house."

"What in the world has gotten into you, Fang? Why do you categorically refuse to let our daughter, _who_ asked herself for this, see a professional? Is it because you and I saw one years ago?"

There wasn't a hint of mirth in Fang's eyes as she gazed at Lightning, only pain, and anger. "Worst waste of time and money in my life," Fang roared, "and because…" She sighed. "Never mind."

"Because?" Lightning wasn't ready to let go just yet. If Fang had anything to say, she better spit it out.

"Because ya foolishly believed this would make any difference when ya didn't even pretend to believe in us," Fang snapped, "so why would it change anythin' with Elia?"

"Because she _wants_ to get better," Lightning counter-attacked, "which _we_ clearly never wanted."

Shaking her head with disbelief, Lightning abruptly stood up from the chair and seized her glass of wine after lighting a cigarette, walking away towards the end of the garden with her stare focused on her shoes. Swallowing a large mouthful of her wine, she wiped away a tear that had rolled down her cheek, frustrated and angry towards not only Fang but also herself. This was a moment where they needed to hold hands, but the burns on their fingertips had yet to heal, and the distance they had created only kept on spreading, the scars of their past pulling them further away from one another and taking a toll on their daughters in the process.

But Lightning was done. It was time to take actions, and damned if Fang disagreed. If Elia wanted to talk to a therapist, then _she_ would make sure she got what she wanted. Inwardly nodding to herself, she spun back around and marched back in direction of the terrace, pointing a finger at a Fang's chest as she reached her location.

"I will take Elia to a psychologist if this is what she wants, and I do not care what you think about the matter." Before Fang could answer, Lightning continued. "And be damn glad I called you, I could've kept this from you, but as I am a good mother, I called. Now let your daughter do what's best for her and if you don't agree with it, you can surely _go to hell_. Now, if you please, I need to take care of a few things before going back to work in the morning, and I suggest you show yourself out. Goodbye, Fang."

Pulling the window open, Lightning escaped the outside with a fast beating heart, dropping the glass and the burning cigarette in the sink, and in an ashtray before storming in direction of the bathroom. Slamming the door, she pressed her palms against the sink and gazed at her reflection, lines of old-age wrinkling her forehead where one single slit seemed more profound than the others, separating her two eyebrows with what Fang had always referred to as _the line of anger_.

Sighing to herself, she listened to Fang's voice coming from Elia's bedroom, staying in the bathroom until only minutes later, the front door clicked back close. Shaking her head and splashing her face with water, Lightning unlocked the bathroom door and slowly exited the room, knocking a few times against Elia's door before being invited in.

Entering, she gazed at both Rhea and Elia were sat on the bed, both of them looking painfully in her direction. Walking in their direction, she sat down at the edge of the bed and grabbed a hold onto Elia's hand, letting their fingers intertwine as Rhea reached out to do the same.

"Thank you, mom…for not…yelling."

"I wouldn't have dared."

"Can I see someone then," Elia shyly asked, darting away.

"Anything you want sweetheart," Lightning said as she gently squeezed her daughter's hand. "Anything you want."


	15. In Flames

Elia was patiently sitting in the waiting room which she had now grown accustomed to. Still slightly nervous, she ran a hand through her brown hair, sighing once more as her psychologist's door remained shut, her eyes darting back to the table where several magazines were waiting to be picked up and read, magazines she had not touched in the six weeks that had gone by and the four sessions she had been taken talking about her life, her problems…And her family.

Doctor Echo Turner had been in charge of her case ever since she had stepped a foot in the office and had gained her trust within the weeks of her sessions, slowly revealing more parts of herself without feeling pressured in any way, and somehow, Elia had felt better. Of course, there had been days were her moral had been at her lowest, but instead of grabbing onto a razor-blade, she had written in a book her feelings, keeping a close tab to how she truly felt. And slowly, the cuts had turned into scars.

"Elia?" Jerking her head up, Elia bounced to her feet, already handing out her hand and softly squeezing her doctor's. "How are you feeling today?"

Entering the small office, Elia first placed her bag and leather jacket on a small chair before marching in direction of the sofa, waiting for her psychologist to take a seat in front of her before giving her an answer. "I'm good, though I'm a bit tired. I came here thirty minutes earlier thinking the appointment was at three, and not three-thirty," Elia said with a febrile laugh, "better being there too early than too late, though."

"Did you party last night?"

"Oh god, no. I just had an essay I needed to finish for today, so I made sure it was perfect," Elia said, smiling. "Which I hope it was."

Letting out a small sigh, Elia leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs, waiting for Doctor Turner, or Echo as she had told her to call her, to speak up.

"So, today is our fourth session. For the first half-hour you and I are going to talk like we have and for the next twenty-five minutes, we will sum-up where we are. Does that work for you?"

"Yep!"

"Perfect. So, last time we talked about your relationship with Rhea that had gotten better, and I asked you to think about the reasons why it declined in the first place."

Nodding, Elia rubbed her fingers together. "We started fighting a lot more when I was thirteen or fourteen. Rhea is the type who likes pretty things and cares more about her looks than her work, and I'm the opposite. She's not dumb at all, don't get me wrong, and she does work, but it became a lot more about fashion and make-up when she turned sixteen."

"And your mothers were okay with that?"

"Hm, no," Elia said, "Lightning was against because she thought it would send the wrong impression, and Fang thought she was simply too young to care about such things."

"And you? What did you think?"

"I thought it was a shame. To me, she wasted her life for fashion when it doesn't really matter in this world. I'm fine wearing no make-up and wearing a simple t-shirt."

"And between your two mothers, which one enjoys fashion more than the other?"

"Lightning," Elia said without a doubt in her mind, "but she does it to be respected."

Stopping for a few moments, Elia fumbled her hand in her hair as Echo wrote a few sentences on her paper without needing to look at them. "So, this started for you to grow apart. Do you think of anything else that might've damaged your relationship?"

"I guess that since we both grew older, we sort of…started to pick sides when we shouldn't have." Noticing the confusion in Echo's eyes, Elia explained. "She started hanging out with Fang more, and I hung more with Lightning. Fang and Rhea are alike when it comes to playing games, messing around…I don't do that at all. I prefer serious conversations and learn more about the world that surrounds me than getting lost in some imaginary world shooting aliens with fake guns." Stopping to take a breath and swallow the saliva she started to miss, Elia glanced at the window, and back at Echo. "And since Rhea has the same temper as Lightning, they started seeing each other less…until they didn't see each other at all."

"Yes, you mentioned this last time, that your mother and your sister stopped talking. Could you explain to me why?"

"It's…stupid," Elia said with a small smile. "Lightning has been dating someone new for a few weeks and…"

"Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me," Elia asked surprised.

"That Lightning is dating someone else than Fang?"

Shrugging, Elia shook her head. "No." Tilting her head, she sighed. "Well, it wasn't what I expected. I didn't think either of them would end up dating someone, so I guess it took me by surprise when we saw her with Alex."

"Alex being your mother's new girlfriend?" Elia nodded. "And did this cause the fight between Rhea and her?" She nodded once more. "What happened exactly?"

"Well we were coming back from the city, Fang Rhea and me and we decided to go have a drink at the beach. And Rhea was the first one who spotted them having a drink, so she marched in their direction. I could tell she was fuming, she was really, really angry."

"Alright?"

"And when Lightning finally saw her they talked, and Rhea called her…a bitch. And Lightning slapped her in return."

Nodding to Elia, Echo wrote a few more words on her papers. "And after that, no contacts were made?"

"Well, they talked once but Rhea moved in with Fang for a few weeks and she didn't come back until New Year's."

"And how did you react to all of this? It can't be easy to fall between two parents who fight, but when a daughter and her mother fight as well it can be complicated."

"Yeah, it was. I never knew when I could talk about Lightning to Rhea, or about Rhea to Lightning so I simply…stopped trying. I figured they'd eventually settle everything on their own…" A soft smile crinkled the corner her lips. "I'm glad they did."

"And Fang in this? What did she do?"

"She honestly tried her best. Talking to Rhea, talking to Lightning…but Lightning was waiting for an apology and Rhea refused to give her one."

"Stubborn?"

"Yeah," Elia said with a chuckle, "she got that from Lightning without a doubt."

Smiling at her psychologist who smiled back, Elia fidgeted at the edge of her seat. The first session she had spent with Echo had gone exactly the same. Where she had once feared to talk, her words had come easily. Perhaps was it because of the good vibe going on between her doctor and herself, but talking with Echo was easy, and it felt good.

"Do you fight with your mothers?"

"No, never. We have some arguments sometimes, but they are quickly discarded. I've never been as wild as Rhea is, so I guess it helps a little."

Ready to speak up, Echo only closed her mouth again and tapped her pen against her papers. Uncomfortable as they both sat in silence, Elia cleared her throat and darted away, the strong eye-contact triggering a certain nervousness she had not expected.

"The first time you came here, you explained me the reason why you decided to call out for professional help. Who did you tell first in your family?"

"I told Rhea…but because she had noticed. She told me she had seen them but never had the courage to tell me anything about them and then…I just explained it to her."

"What did you feel when you told her about those scars?"

"Ashamed at first," Elia said as she glanced back at her psychologist with burning cheeks, "I still am, I guess. But it was also a weight of my chest. I kept it secret and I was afraid to be caught in the act… So, I guess it helped me a little as well."

"What was your sister's reaction when you told her?"

"She was…shocked I think, and sad. It was like she had done a mistake when I showed her, and she was embarrassed by herself. Which is strange because Rhea never feels embarrassed by anything."

"Are you afraid that your sister doesn't care enough about you because of everything that has occurred in your family?"

Sharply inhaling the air, Elia slowly nodded her head. "It terrifies me." Fighting back the tears, Elia hid her face behind her hands, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I feel like…It's never good enough." Letting a few tears rolling on her cheeks, Elia was surprised to see a tissue being handed in her direction as she brought her hands back to her knees, nodding with appreciation as she grabbed it from her psychologist's hands.

"Do you feel like this with every member of your family? Even Serah, Vanille or Snow?"

"It's just…they expect me to be this rising star who only has good grades and does nothing wild in her life. Like I'm the perfect little baby and I don't want to be that. But I also do want to be that…It just gets lonely because _no one_ is like me. You know?"

"I do," Echo said as she placed her pen on her papers. "I was the same when I was younger. I have an older sister, and a twin and they were both more alike than I was. My father was working a lot, so I never saw him, and my mother cared for us three, but in different ways. Where my sisters failed, I shone."

"What did you do?"

"I did what I knew I could, I proved that I could do even more. I started new things, I learned new languages, met new people from different cultures, I started writing…and soon I wasn't as alone anymore because I had opened up a new world, a world of endless opportunities."

Smiling, Elia looked at her psychologist with a sparkle in her eyes. Echo had a point, after all. There was a lot she could do, and a lot of things she had been meaning to do. She wanted to go to England during the holidays and work for a Charity for a couple of months, she wanted to learn French and Spanish to expand her horizon, she wanted to know more about the law, and study cases with undivided attention. There was a lot she could fill her time with, but there would be something missing either way.

"But…I'd still want my parents to care."

"What makes you think they do not?"

"Just…They're so focused on their failed marriage they became oblivious to the rest. Lightning was too busy trying to forget about her problems and Fang was buried deep underneath them so neither of them could see far away in the distance." Drawing a circle on her knee with her fingertip, Elia heavily sighed. "It's like the more they try, the worse everything gets. In the six weeks that have passed since we started here, they saw each other twice, and every time they simply end up yelling at each other and pointing fingers but refusing to take the blame when they're obviously both at fault."

"Why do you think they are both at fault?"

"Because I believe that neither of them fought enough for the other. They're trying to blame it on one another to make it easier that the marriage indeed failed when they should be looking at what either of them did wrong. I know some issues occurred, and I cannot bear to imagine how hard it must've been on my mom…I mean Lightning, to lose a child, but she forgets that Fang lost one too. It's like a contest of who had the right to suffer the most and the one who suffered the most wins when they should focus on healing their wounds _together_ rather than fight for the same reason."

Echo Jane Turner had been a psychologist for teenagers specialized in depression and self-harm for the past nine years and she had seen in those years, many different types of youngsters. She had seen the damaged ones, the proud ones, the smart ones, the shy ones…But Elia Farron was something else. Never at the age of fifteen had she seen a young woman such as herself try to understand the mind of her parents and hit the spot right on. Because Elia was absolutely right about her entire statement.

"How long has it been since you've been thinking that?"

"A long time. When my moms signed the papers for the divorce, the animosity between them was so raw even the hair on my neck went up. They couldn't handle looking at each other in the eye, trying to blame the other for the pain they both suffered through. And as time went by I just stood by the door and listened, observed how they acted towards each other and how hard it was on both of them because of the pain they shared but refused to let show and what they didn't realize is that, in the same process, it hurt both Rhea and me. We were sitting on the front-row of their love turning to ashes and we felt the blood-splatter on both of our faces."

"And the reaction it triggered was drastically different between the two of you. Where Rhea acted foolishly, you took a step backward." Elia nodded. "Today from your point of view, do you think your mothers could come back to a neutral ground?"

Shaking her head, Elia swallowed back her tears. "No. They're too far gone." Closing her eyes, Elia let the pain flood through her body, and like a wave crashing against the shore, pieces of her heart fell down of her chest.

* * *

Drumming her fingers against the wheel of her car, Fang had been blasting the music for the past five minutes, mouthing the lyrics of _Thirty Seconds To Mars's_ new single whilst shamelessly air-guitaring whenever the mood had struck her. Glancing at her wrist-watch for the umpteenth time, Fang heavily sighed through her mouth as she lowered the sound of the radio, glancing in her rear-view mirror before spotting Elia coming in her direction with a small smile, but smile nonetheless.

Unlocking the car, she greeted her daughter by a peck on her cheek and immediately engaged on the road with a dazzling smile. "What do ya say we pick up your sister from driving school and go have ice-cream on the beach?"

"Yeah sure! Be careful though, she might still be behind the wheel."

"Hm good point, I should avoid the main streets," Fang teased through a grin. Glancing at her daughter, thousands of questions pondered through her mind. "So…"

"It was good mum," Elia said with a smile. "I really like her. I'm glad you and mom decided to let me see her."

 _Wasn't really my choice_ , Fang thought. "Good then. If ya think she can help, then it's good."

"I don't think she can, she actually does help me. And it's why I'm going to take a job as a waitress in a coffee shop first thing tomorrow."

Arching a brow, Fang slowed down as the light turned red and gazed at Elia. Where did that idea suddenly came from?

"I think I need to distract myself with something else than books, so I want to get a job. Like that, I'll learn more about the professional work and I'll be able to save for studies, or trips."

"That's…very mature of you Eli'. I'm proud of ya."

Watching the grin, Fang mirrored it with a wink, quickly pressing on the pedal as the light turned green. Elia would ever cease to amaze her, and the more she grew up, the stronger and more confident her daughter became.

"Did you have a job when you were younger?"

"Yeah, I worked as a barista actually. Your mother…" she paused for a few seconds, "your mother liked coming to that bar. And so did I when I wasn't workin'."

"You met her at the bar where you worked," Elia asked surprised by the revelation.

"Yeah! She was havin' a fag outside and she stared at some friends of mine, so I asked her what her problem was."

"What a way to meet," Elia teased.

"Well, she explained why she had been starin' and well, then I went inside the bar. And we started talkin'."

Feeling her smile fading away from her lips, Fang fidgeted at the edge of her seat and pressed a tad more on the accelerator. For the past six weeks, Fang had been free from Lightning in her mind. Of course, they had been forced to meet, but not once had they exchanged words, and this fitted her just fine. Whether Lightning was pleased or not no longer mattered, and Fang felt _free_.

But during one short second, the memories of their love came back and wanting it or not, it hurt. Shaking her had ever so slightly, she pushed the thoughts away and focused back on her daughter.

"So, waitress eh?"

"Yeah! It'll allow me to meet people outside of school as well, I thought it could be fun."

"That's for sure. Maybe ya could convince your sister do to the same, god knows she could use it."

"That's a conversation for you to have, she'll just roll her eyes at me."

Laughing, Fang nodded. That was typical of Rhea for sure. "Yeah, ya might be right. Speaking of the Devil, look at that," Fang said pointing at a car going into parallel parking, the driver's hands grasping the wheel as if it might've escaped the car. "Record her while ya can."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Glancing over at Elia with her phone in hand, Fang loudly laughed at her mischief, looking back at her panicked daughter maneuvering the steering-wheel only a few feet away from them. "She's going to be green."

"This will give ya some pressure to force to take a job," Fang teased as she parked her own car without any trouble.

"Yeah right!"

Nudging her daughter after turning the engine off, she then grabbed Elia's hand, green bright eyes flickering in her direction. "What's up mum?"

"How are ya feelin' Eli'?"

"I'm…better. Really mum." Fang smiled, but still doubted. Was Elia really okay? "Mum, it's the truth."

"He, I'm that transparent?"

"Well, I'm a good observer." Chuckling, Fang placed a kiss on Elia's forehead, slightly flinching as Rhea entered the car to sit on the back-seat.

"Hiya there," Fang said with a grin, "how was the parallel park?"

"The para—how do you know about this?"

Smirking, Fang quickly exited the parking spot as Elia showed her older sister the video, Rhea shrieking at her own sight. Glancing at the rear-view mirror, Fang slowly drove in direction of the beach, the idea of an ice-cream seeming more and more ravishing the closer they got to the shore.

Not having spent a lot of time with both of her daughters in the past few weeks because of either Rhea's plans or they stay at Lightning's, she hadn't been able to know what had been going on in either of their lives, and their closeness was dearly missed. It had therefore been the reason why she had decided to go down and enjoy a walk on the beach under the sunlight, enjoying an afternoon with her two favorite girls in the world. Just. Like. Before.

 _It was one thing to hold onto one little blond ball of energy, but when the second brunette ball of the equivalent amount of energy started bouncing everywhere, Fang felt at a loss. Between Rhea wanting to go that way, and Elia hell-bent on going the other, their shopping session was a true nightmare. And neither of them were willing to compromise._

 _"Okay! No! No, no, no! I need ice-cream," Fang decided as her shoulders slouched, both Rhea and Elia jerking their head up to gaze at their mother with shimmering eyes of pleasure._

 _"Mum! I want one too!"_

 _"Me too mummy! I want ice-cream!"_

 _"Can we get one at the beach?"_

 _"Oh yay, at the beach!"_

 _"Please mummy!_

 _"Pleaaaase!"_

 _Letting out a faint sigh, Fang slowly nodded in both of their direction. At least, they compromised! Marching in direction of the beach with one hand in each of hers, Fang led both of her chatting daughters towards the shore, their laughter and comments on everything they could possibly see bringing a soft, warm smile to her lips._

 _How she wished she could've shared this moment with Lightning but being too busy delivering a child at the Hospital, her presence had sadly not been allowed, and Fang had decided therefore to make it a day-out under the sunshine._

 _"Hey Fang!"_

 _Lifting her head up from the ground, it was with a smile that she gazed at Serah carrying a bag from Levi's, blue eyes covered by aviator-like sunglasses._

 _"Auntie Serah!"_

 _"Look mummy it's Serah!"_

 _"Yes I've…"_

 _"Do you want to come and get ice-cream with us?"_

 _"Oh yay! Mummy can she come with us?"_

 _"Mumm please!"_

 _Throwing a panicked gaze in Serah's direction, Lightning's younger sister softly nodded. "I'd love too. Can I join you?"_

 _"Please," Fang uttered, "ya can even grab one if ya want, they keep pullin' me in different directions I feel like I'm being quartered."_

 _Glancing at her two chuckling daughters who did not understand the meaning of the words, Fang slowly let go of Rhea's hand, Serah's grabbing it immediately before the young child could wander away._

 _"How are ya Serah? Been a few days since I saw ya!"_

 _"I'm doing good! I was out with Vanille last night and…I met someone," she said in a whisper, "I'm meeting him tomorrow."_

 _"Hence the bag?"_

 _"Hence the bag! But how are you? Everything good?"_

 _"Yes, extremely so. A bit tired, but I can't complain about it."_

 _"That's great to hear. Light was too busy today?"_

 _"Yeah, she's at the hospital to deliver a baby," Fang said with a smile, proud of her wife, "she'll be home tomorrow."_

 _"Tomorrow!"_

 _Glancing down at Elia, Fang's lips curved into a smile. "Yes, mommy has to work tonight."_

 _"So, no Pokémon?"_

 _"Of course, Pokémon."_

 _"With ice-cream!"_

 _"No, ice-cream now, and Pokémon after you've done your homework. Both of ya," Fang said looking at Elia and Rhea. Both began to pout, and soon enough, to cry. "Oh Christ."_

 _Kneeling on the ground, she brought both of her daughters in front of herself and placed a hand on their shoulders, deeply gazing into their respectively blue and green eyes._

 _"Ya know how it is. Ya have to work a little bit before watchin' TV."_

 _"But it's not fair," Rhea protested, head held high with her seven-years of age._

 _"It is fair, and it is how it will be." Staring at both stopping their drama act, Fang stood back up from the ground and gave Serah a helpless look._

 _She loved her daughters more than anything, but God were they complicated. Grabbing back Elia's hand, she led them all back towards the beach with a soft smile, already spotting the ice-cream parlor. How beautiful life was. Standing here, what could go wrong, really?_

Staring at the ocean with her strawberry and chocolate ice-cream cone in hand, Fang let out a heavy sigh. How had everything gone wrong, actually?


	16. Normal

Leaning under the frame of the kitchen door, Serah was gazing at her son with a bright smile. Too focused on his Monopoly game with Snow, the young boy had the same look on his face as his father; angry, cunning and ready to throw the entire board away from the table. And when it should've bothered her, Serah had only been able to grin.

Glancing at her phone for the fifteenth time in the past ten minutes, anxiety crippled back between her lungs, the lack of response to a text she had sent worrying her far more than she had first wanted to care for. But when it came to her best friend, and ex-sister-in-law, Serah's mind was conflicted. Why should she care, after all? Too many reasons had been present for her not to, even if she had tried her best to ignore them all.

With a sigh, she unlocked her iPhone, and re-read the message Vanille had sent her thirty minutes ago, her mouth going dry the more she scrolled down the screen.

" _Hey, Serah. I know it's been a while since we've talked, or even saw each other, but I wanted you to know that I missed you. We've been best friends for years, and though I know we both are on opposites sides, I've been thinking about you. I hope you, Daniel and Snow are doing good, and that you're all thriving in your lives. With that said, I would really like to see you whenever you want. I'm free for all that I am concerned, and I would like to catch up with you. After all, it's been more than two months now, that we haven't seen each other. I hope you're well. I miss you and love you. Van. X."_

Sighing to herself, Serah then read her reply, hoping her words would not be interpreted as dry and emotionless as they had seemed to be.

" _Hi Vanille. It's been a while indeed, and the two kids I have at home are doing just fine. Work is great, and Dan' is getting a tad better. I would indeed like to see you again, so we could talk, but the things that happened cannot be erased. However, I am willing to compromise. I'm free today and tomorrow, but Snow, Dan and I are going on Holliday on Friday, so we will be absent for a week. Tell me when it fits you the most. I miss you too and love you as well. X."_

Serah sighed again. What she had said made sense. After all, they had fought for a reason, and that reason had been their sisters, a reason she deemed important enough to cause a ruckus between them. Running a hand through her hair, she however flinched as her phone loudly buzzed on the coffee-table, inwardly insulting herself as she rushed towards to read, and to reply.

" _I'm free right now. Can I come by?"_

" _Yes. We'll go to the garden; my men are in a monopoly contest."_

Waiting a few moments, her phone buzzed back in her hand. _"Great I'll be there in ten. And good luck with them, we both know how they can be."_

" _That we do. See you then."_

Serah tossed her phone back on the table, with a smile. Glad to meet with Vanille again after so long but also terrified about the outcome of their drink -where alcohol would surely be involved-, Serah palms began to sweat. _Great. You've known her for years, chill your ass Farron._

Sighing to herself as she gazed at her phone, Serah then made her way towards the kitchen and opened up the fridge. Looking at its content, she picked up a bottle of wine and two glasses from the dishwasher before making her way back into the living-room, Snow's voice immediately calling out for her name.

"What's up?"

"Vanille is coming," Serah said with a slight smile.

"Vanille is…what?"

Amused by her husband's reaction, Serah shrugged. "We need to talk. So, continue playing and _do not_ disturb us."

"Noted! I have to…win anyway."

"Ha! You won't win dad!"

Amused as Snow focused his attention back on Daniel wearing nothing but a proud smile, Serah shook her head and walked across the garden with a pounding heart. Unable to understand her state of obvious nervousness, Serah did not hesitate to pour herself a first glass of wine, sipping on the alcohol as she sat down on a chair with her mind trying to drift to absolutely everything else.

Immediately, Lightning's face came to her thoughts, as well as Elia's. She too had learned about what had occurred, and she too had cried. How could she had not when she had seen the pain in Elia's eyes, as well as in Lightning's, and the pain mother and daughter had been undergoing had been so obvious her heart had shattered. _But_ , Serah also knew Fang had been hurting and that she too had needed time to understand, heal, as well as Vanille. Maybe was it the reason why she had decided to accept the offer. She _was_ her best friend, even though they had…parted ways.

Letting out a sigh, Serah pressed her glass against her lips and swallowed nearly half of her drink. God, she needed that liquid luck to bring out her courage. Were her hands trembling? She looked at them, quickly rubbing them against her jeans to get rid of their sweatiness and jumped out of her skin as she heard a small, quiet voice coming from her right. Glancing, she looked at Vanille and fought hard not to cry as she stood up from her chair to gaze in her direction and fought it even harder as they wrapped into a hug. _Why did we have to fight like this Vanille?_

"Hi, Serah," Vanille quietly said as she pulled away, "how are you doing?"

"I'm…" She wanted to tell her the truth, to tell her that she was not doing well at all and all that she needed was a shoulder to cry on, a friend to hold hands with. But she couldn't. "I'm good, I'm good. How are you?"

"Same."

They both sat down, facing each other but not daring to look at one another. The atmosphere between the two of them was ice-cold, and the shivers Serah felt down her spine were all but too real. She needed an ice-breaker. _Maybe a hammer would work. Or a chainsaw. Or just words…Need to stop watching those damn horror movies._ She glanced up from her glass and found herself staring right back at Vanille. Why was this so difficult?

"So…What's up?" _What's up? What are you, fifteen and flirting with Snow all over again? Grow up!_

"Well, too much to be quite honest! But you know, keeping it cool."

She smiled. Of course, Vanille was always like this. Sweet, loving… _And judgmental. And believing you sister is responsible for everything when you know she's not._ Her eyes grew darker and she glanced away. Heat rushed through her body as anger tingled in her brain.

"Serah…I wanted to…apologize."

Jerking her head up, Serah frowned. "Apologize?" This was surprising. "Why?"

"Because of what I've said before Christmas. I'm just… Confused. Still am. And things only got worse." Serah arched a brow. "About Elia. Fang…told me."

"Yeah, Light told me too." Thinking back about that memory, she pictured Lightning's face again as Elia told her. She clenched her fists and took in a deep breath. "I hear her sessions with the psychologist are going well."

"Yeah…Let's hope. She's our niece after all."

"She is." Serah smiled and looked back at Vanille. "Families should stand hand in hand, not back against back."

"I couldn't agree more." There was a moment of silence that wasn't uncomfortable but slowly began to be as neither of them knew what to say.

Running a hand through her hair, Serah then pushed them and tucked a few strands behind her right ear, soon playing with the earing Snow had bought her only days before, the diamond piece bringing a smile back to her lips.

"How are things with Hope," she asked after a short sip.

"Great! He works a lot at the moment so it's a bit harder to see each other, but still. It's all good. I'm guessing it's the same with the boys?"

"Yes, everything's fine," she said with a smile.

Quickly casting a glance on the table as her phone relentlessly started to buzz, Serah excused herself and snatched the cell between her fingers, sliding her thumb across the screen at the reading of her sister's name. Going towards the pool for privacy, she let out a breath and placed the phone at her ear.

"Hey sis, everything okay?"

"Hiya Serah. Yes, everything is good." There was a silence. Serah frowned and glanced over her shoulder. "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"

"Nothing is planned no. Why'd you ask?"

"I wanted to invite you and Snow, Alex is coming over because I'd like her to meet the girls…They agreed, of course. But I could use your help."

Serah opened round eyes, staring at the clear water of the pool. This was a big step, and she could sense Lightning was unsure of her decision. "Uh yeah sure. I just have to check with the babysitter see if she can come. Let me call you back okay?"

"Sure thing. Thank you, Serah."

Hanging up, Serah immediately inputted her baby-sitter's number and placed the phone to her ear. Glad Samantha was able to pick up, she explained the situation and to her greatest relief, agreed to come and make sure Daniel would stay safe. Shortly after hanging up the phone and thanking Samantha a thousand times, she phoned back her sister and agreed to have dinner with her, the girls, Snow…and Alex. Based on Lightning's tone of voice when they hung up the second time, she could tell her sister had felt some sort of relief. She could understand her anxiety, especially because of Rhea's tendency to…go overboard, and with the impression she had first given, she knew for sure they would be some sort of animosity between her niece and Alex. And if Lightning needed her to be there to avoid any kind of additional drama, she would make damn sure she'd be there.

Going back towards the table, she sharply glanced in direction of the living-room with an arched brow, the sound of something falling to the ground bringing a small yet sharp smile to her lips. Looking at Vanille for a few seconds, she sauntered in direction of the sliding door and peaked under the frame, watching as both Snow and Daniel were picking up the piece of the game, fake money bills spread across the floor.

"I'm guessing…no one won," Serah teased.

"No we called it a draw," Snow said with a grin. "Everything good?"

She nodded. "Tonight, we're going at Light's. You're meeting Alex."

He stared at her deadpan, holding a bundle of money. "Wow. That's…okay. Well. And Dan?"

"I called Sam, she's coming in two hours."

Snow nodded again and Serah walked back to Vanille who had not moved a single. Or only to finish her drink now standing empty on the table. Grabbing the bottle, she poured the glasses again. _Snow will drive tonight._

"Anything planned for the night," Vanille asked as if she had read in her mind.

Sitting back down, Serah wondered if the truth was the better option. After all, they had fought because of Lightning and Fang's separation, well divorce in fact, and the fact Snow would now have the opportunity to meet Alex brought one more problem to the situation.

"I'm going to Light's with Snow," she said without giving any other detail.

"The girls will be there?"

"Yes," Serah slowly said. In a whisper, she added, "And Alex."

"Oh." Vanille's eyebrows furrowed for a second but the shimmer in her eyes came back instantly. "Good to see they're still together."

Unable to tell if Vanille had meant it, Serah decided to push the matter away. There was no need to get into a quarrel again when the previous one had yet to be forgotten. _Protect Fang, I'll protect Lightning_. She ran her hand through her hair and gazed at her sister-in-law. What was she supposed to say?

"How's Fang doing," she said after a few moments of hesitation.

"She's doing alright. She had a date a few days ago." _Ouch_. "I think it went well. From what she told me anyway."

"Well that's good," Serah said with as much sincerity in her voice as she could, "good to see them both moving on." _Since when did I become such a liar?_

"Yes, I think it was for the best." _Was it? Is it?_ Serah frowned as she brought her glass to her lips. No, it would never be for the best. "Serah? Are you okay?"

"Why do you hate Lightning so much?"

Clenching her fists, Serah bore her stare into Vanille's, feeling her cheeks burning as anger ran through her veins. Maybe was it the alcohol that had helped build up the courage to ask the question that had been running through her mind for the past few months, of maybe had she always believe Vanille had a problem with Lightning. Whatever it might be, now was the time to finally place all the cards on the table.

"I don't hate Lightning at all Serah," Vanille said after a moment, "I just think she blames it all on Fang when she shouldn't. Now this doesn't mean I think Lightning is the one at fault since I have no clue, but she did hurt Fang more in the past months than she has in her life, and I honestly think it's best if she stays away from her. As long as possible."

"Lightning isn't poison, Vanille," Serah dryly said, "you make it seem like touching her or even looking in her direction will make her ill."

"No, it's not what I meant Serah. But I've seen Lightning over the years and she has a tendency to…"

"A tendency to what?" Serah felt like blowing up.

"To over-exaggerate and have a thing for the melodramatic."

Staring right back at Vanille, Serah fidgeted at the edge of her seat, gulping her entire glass of wine only to pour herself another one after that.

"I would never say that about Fang," she muttered under her breath, "you're crossing a line."

"You asked me Serah…I'm sorry but it's what I think about her. Don't get me wrong, I… _Like_ Lightning but… I don't mind not seeing her anymore."

Serah had two options; storm out of the garden and into her bedroom or kick Vanille out. But deciding to act like a grown-up, she did no such thing. Instead, she poured Vanille's glass with a smile, as fake as it was, and waited for the air to cool down. Suddenly, the only place she wanted to be at was at Lightning's with a glass…and better company.

* * *

Plates here, glasses there, cutlery perfectly aligned in order of size, Lightning was sweating more than in a sauna under her daughter's amused gazes. And as planned, neither of them had been of any use. They had slightly helped with the meals and had _tried_ to bring the bottles of wine to the living-room but had usually ended up in a deep conversation about clothes, books, and God knew what and usually spent more time standing in the middle of the living-room rather than being of any help at all. But it hadn't mattered. Lightning was feeling...almost happy.

Now standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror, Lightning was roaming through her makeup case in the search for her perfume, but no matter where she looked, her bottle of Dior completely disappeared.

"Rhea," she shouted, "did you take my perfume?"

"What?"

"Did you…" She stopped and frowned. Peaking her head through the door, she gazed at her daughter. "Did you take my perfume?"

"Erm no. Did you check your bedroom?"

"No, can you go for me?"

Rhea nodded and opened up the door. It was only then that Lightning severely flinched, rushing in direction of her bedroom to hide what she had forgotten to take away from her nightstand…right next to the bottle of perfume. Pushing the door wide open, she watched as Rhea's shoulder became tensed and flinched as she exploded into a fit of laughter. Feeling her cheeks turning furiously red, Lightning placed both of her hands over them and covered her skin, avoiding eye-contact with her daughter as she slowly turned around.

"You really love the color pink don't you," Rhea said, laughing loudly as Lightning's cheeks gained another shade of red. "Don't' worry mom…I'll keep your secret buried…Like a bunny."

Rhea grinned, and Lightning shook her head, slapping her daughter's shoulder as she walked past her to exit her bedroom. Bolting in direction of her vibrator, she stuffed it back inside her drawer and snatched her bottle of perfume, pressed twice and placed it back on the nightstand. But when the doorbell rang, Lightning's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm opening! I'm opening," she shouted, nearly running on her high-heels. Ran passing Elia and Rhea staring at her, Lightning jumped forward and opened the door in such a hurry even she didn't know if she would fall.

"Uh…Hi?"

"Oh, it's you." She smiled at Serah and Snow frowning in her direction. "Uh I'm mean…oh it's you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Serah said through a smile before wrapping her arms around Lightning's shoulders. "It's good to see you. You smell good."

"Oh yeah mom's perfume is really guarded."

"Rhea! Would you please…Open a bottle of wine," Lightning said as a blush crept up her neck. Focusing her attention back on Serah who moved to the side, she greeted Snow and just when she was about to close the door, heard a soft giggle coming from outside.

Opening the door back, she peaked through and stared dumbfounded at Alex standing still with a bouquet of flowers, a smile and looked absolutely stunning.

"We wanted to tease you a bit," Serah said from behind her back, "so she hid behind us."

"Cruel," Lightning said as she completely opened the door to let Alex in, "but it's already forgotten."

Smiling as Alex handed her the bouquet, Lightning came closer and only pecked her cheek, swiftly turning around with a dazzling smile no one in the room could miss. Stopping in front of her two daughters, she glanced at both of them and with a nod, turned back around.

"Alex this is Elia my youngest, and Rhea, my oldest. Girls…this is Alex."

She observed as hands were shook and glances exchanged, her blood pressure going through the roof as Rhea kept her stare strongly focused in Alex's direction without blinking once. But when she saw the small smile crinkling up the corner of her eyes, Lightning blew out an invisible breath and disappeared inside the kitchen with the flowers still in hand, looking around the room in the search for a vase. Quickly spotting one, she did not hear as someone opened up the door and flinched as Serah stood still with a smile. Actually, Serah grinned.

"You look happy."

"Rhea didn't call me a bitch or Alex so…Yes, I am!"

"You're cute when you're in love."

Lightning flinched. She did not feel when the vase left her hand but heard it when it exploded on the ground. However, she did not move a single muscle, only being able to stare deadpanned in Serah's direction already rushing to get a broom to gather the pieces of glass that had shattered on the ground.

In love? Why on Earth did Serah believe that? Because she was happy to see her, and that her daughters were getting along with her? Lightning frowned, the flowers still clutched in her hand.

Emerging from the living-room appeared Rhea and Alex, lines of worry drawn on both of their faces."Everything alright mom?"

"Uh, yes, yes," she mumbled, "the vase slid from my hands, it's all." She glanced at Rhea and then back at Alex, blue eyes boring in her. "Rhea can you ask Snow to open up the bottles of wine? I'll be there in a second." Waiting for them to leave the kitchen, Lightning frowned as she caught a glimpse of Serah's gaze, her sister still busy gathering the pieces of glass and throwing them in the bin.

Running her only free hand through her hair, she waited for Serah to be done and mouthed a silent _thank you_ as she stood back straight near the sink. "What did you mean Serah?"

"What did I mean? When?"

"When you-," she stopped herself and came closer to her sister. "When you said I was cute when I was in love," Lightning asked in a whisper, the words sounding foreign and strange.

"Well, when you saw Alex you had a…look in your eyes. I assumed you had feelings for her."

Lightning cocked her head to the side, analyzing what her sister could possibly mean. Did she have feelings for Alex? And if she had any, why wouldn't she had realized that before her sister?

"I…" she frowned once more. "I don't know. It's not something I want to think about just yet," Lightning said with a slow smile, grabbing a second vase and making sure, this time, not to break anything. Arranging the flowers in the water, she gave Serah a last glance and exited the kitchen with the vase in hand.

Placing the flowers on a smaller table next to the couch, Lightning glanced up at Snow talking to Alex before looking at her two daughters whispering to one another, the smirk on their lips announcing nothing but trouble. Slightly squinting her eyes, she wagged her finger in the air and watched as Rhea's smirk turned into a beam. Deciding to ignore the mirth in her daughter's eyes, Lightning seized two glasses that had already been filled and handed one to both Snow and Alex, the blue color of her eyes locking a tad longer with the blue color of her own.

Smiling, she turned around, grabbed two other glasses and hesitated as she gazed down at her daughter. "I'm allowing you one glass of wine. Want it now or later?"

"I wouldn't mind drinking it now! Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome."

"Only one? And what if…I held important information that could possibly…Cause you harm?"

"You little minx," Lightning said with a sigh, "don't you dare."

Rhea giggled along with Elia, Lightning not needing a long time to figure out what her older daughter had shared. Growling, the amusement in her eyes sparkled nonetheless. She was so happy to see her daughters finally getting along.

"Thanks for having us Light," Serah said, making Lightning turn back around, "it's been a while since we've done something. And I'm glad to see you again, Alex."

"You as well Serah," Alex said with a true smile, "it's been a while."

Her gaze fell to Lightning and sucking in the air between her lungs, she smiled back. "Thanks for coming tonight. All three of you," Lightning then said, "cheers."

"Cheers."

* * *

The evening went by surprisingly well. Rhea managed to exchange with Alex without sounding like an impatient child, and Elia had told her about her plans to work as a waitress, excited at the idea to start in only a few days. Alex had listened, memorized and asked questions much more than Lightning had been able to do and had thought that being a Journalist, Alexandra was used to gathering as much information as possible and memorize them, reason why she had handled two very talkative girls for the past thirty minutes.

"Hey Light, can you pass me the carrots?"

"Sure thing." She reached out for the plate, her fingers grazing Alex's as she reached for the mashed potatoes. Her fingers tingled at the touch, but deciding to ignore the feeling, she picked up the carrots and handed them to Serah with a smile. "So, Snow," she then asked, "how's everything going? Still head manager or did they finally give you the position of COO?"

"Still waiting for it to be honest," he said grunting, "I keep busting my ass off but the CEO seems to completely dismiss how hard I'm working."

"Why don't you start your own business?"

The question puzzled both Serah and Snow. Jerking their head up, they gazed at Lightning with round eyes, trying to figure out if what she had said had been intended as a joke.

"Light, what are you talking about?"

"Well look at it that way; Snow is good as what he's doing, and he _knows_ what he's doing. You have money, Dan is older now…Why not start your company?"

"Yeah but it's not that easy…"

"I know it's not. I was terrified when I started my own office and it took some time before I made a name for myself, but the two terrors," she said pointing at her two daughters looking positively appalled, "were two and four. But with the help of…" She stopped dead in her tracks, Fang's smile popped inside her mind. She swallowed hard and picked up her glass of wine. "Of Fang," she continued, "I got through it."

She glanced at Serah slowly nodding in her direction. "Not sure." She sighed. "What do you think Snow? Could you do it?"

"Would I have the support of my beautiful wife," he asked through a grin.

"Always, you know it."

Their fingers intertwined, and Lightning felt a pinch in her heart. _Always_ was a word she hated the most. There was no always, or at least not anymore. Always had been replaced by _maybe_ , and maybe had not been enough. _Do you remember when she proposed? Do you remember how happy you felt? Where did your happiness go? Why did you let go of it?_

 _Lightning was tired. She felt like it had been weeks since she had managed to sleep, working extra hours at the hospital as often as she could, her sixty-hour weeks having turned to seventy-five. She wasn't only tired. She was exhausted._

 _Sighing as she parked her car in the driveway, a small smile curled up her lips at the sight of Fang's Honda. At least she was able to see her tonight and even have dinner. It felt like months since they had spent some quality time together, and Lightning was missing her presence dearly. Turning the ignition off, she snatched the keys and jumped out of the car, taking four long strides before opening the front door._

 _Frowning at the lack of light, she flicked them on and stared at the emptiness of her house. Was Fang already sleeping? Or had she taken a cab to Vanille's, so she wouldn't drink and drive back home? She felt lonely, standing still I the middle of the hallway with her purse in hand, but after a short sigh, walked in direction of the kitchen. Tossing her purse and trench coat on one of the stools, she skirted around the island and opened the fridge, surprised at the sight of nothing but bottles of water. Hadn't she bought wine the previous day? Or had she imagined it?_

 _Letting out a faint sigh, she roughly flinched at the sound of music emanating from the…garden? She furrowed her brow and carefully walked towards the sliding-glass, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of Fang standing still in the middle of the garden. Glancing to her right, she looked at the speakers playing her favorite song from Frank Sinatra 'Something Stupid'. Immediately, a smile curled up her lips._

" _Good evenin' Light," Fang said as she sauntered closer. Looking up, Lightning felt warm lips being pressed against her own. It had been four years since they had started dating and her kisses always felt like the first one they had exchanged. "You're looking amazin'."_

 _Lightning snorted and gently nudge Fang's shoulder. "Please, I look like hell. You are the one who's beautiful." They kissed again, and Lightning was led towards a table that had been arranged, candles having been placed to illuminate the area. She slightly quirked her brows, amazed by Fang's nice attention. "What's all this?"_

" _Well I know ya have been workin' like a maniac for the past weeks and I thought ya deserved a break. So, I cooked ya dinner to show you how much I love you."_

" _My God Fang…you didn't…" interrupted by a kiss, Lightning smiled against Fang's lips. "I love you."_

 _Fang grinned and pulled back. Leaning in, she took the lid off the plate and grinned even more as Lightning's eyes shimmered with delight._

" _Oh my god. Are these asparagus? With a tender steak? And mashed sweet-potatoes?" Lightning couldn't believe what she was seeing._

" _Sure is! Now why don't we dig-in and enjoy a nice dinner with Sinatra?"_

" _Happy to." Lightning beamed and sat down on the chair, waiting for Fang to do the same. Glancing, she watched as Fang poured two glasses of red wine to go with the meat. Taking hers, she clicked it against Fang's and swallowed a short mouthful, sighing with pleasure as it landed back on the table. "Thank you Fang. I was afraid you…" She stopped and frowned. "Nothing."_

" _Hey, hey! Ya thought what? I left? My car's in the driveway silly."_

" _I know but…I've barely been here in weeks and I'm…"_

" _Light? You're ramblin'."_

 _She let out a sigh and dug her fork in her steak. It was tender, and her mouth watered. "I know but…I just don't want to lose you."_

 _There was a silence and Lightning did not dare look up from her plate. Bringing the piece of steak to her lips, she gently chewed on the meat, the perfectly cooked taste of it causing an internal orgasm the more she chewed._

" _I can promise ya that losin' me is not in the books."_

 _Lightning's head jerked up, surprised to find out Fang had moved. Slowly lowering her eyes, she gazed at her girlfriend standing on one knee, a small box waiting in her hands. Was this a dream? She surely didn't want to wake up. Was this real?_

" _Lightnin', I love ya and I will always love ya. I hadn't planned to do it like this and had…planned other things, but it just felt like the right moment." Lightning swallowed hard and fought back her tears. "I'll always be by your side. No matter what because you're the woman I love._

" _Oh my god."_

 _Fang smiled and opened up the box. "Lightnin', will ya…"_

" _Yes."_

" _Do me the honor to…"_

" _Yes, yes, yes."_

" _Be my wife."_

" _Oh my god yes."_

 _Fang stood up and popped the ring from the box. Handing out her trembling hand, Lightning felt the ring sliding on her finger and immediately kissed Fang with as much fury she could. "I love you, I love you so much."_

" _Me too Light. I'll always love ya."_

 _Grinning, Lightning bore her eyes into Fang's. "You better."_

"Lightning?"

"Hm?" She flinched. Had she been crying? Wiping a tear from her cheek, Lightning bolted out of the dining-room and walked down her garden, her lips quivering as another wave of tears menaced to be shed.

"Light?" It was Snow. "Light look at me." She didn't want to and shook her head. "Please?"

Sighing, she turned back around and stared at her brother-in-law. "What?"

"Just cry," he said with a soft smile. "I won't judge you. I'll just be here if you need me to be."

She looked at Snow confused, but the look on his face showed his true concern about her. But crying in front of people had never been something she allowed herself to do, not wanting to show her weaknesses to anyone. What was the point after all? She growled to herself and shook her head again.

"No." She glared at him. "No, no." Sniffling, the tears were on the verge of rolling down her cheeks. In a whisper, she repeated a last _no_ and like a ticking bomb, exploded into tears. "I'm so lonely Snow," she said in between two whimpers.

"No, you're not," Snow said as she wrapped her arms around him. "You have your family."

She let out a faint smile but couldn't feel happy about it. The only person she wanted was gone, and her always had simply turned into a _never_.


	17. Alright

"Now coming, Thirty Seconds to Mars' new title _Love is Madness_ featuring Halsey! Enjoy it, nerds!" Fang pressed on the button and leaned back in her chair, glancing at the time with a sigh. Only an hour and a half left and then she'd be able to go back to her place and spend some time with Rhea and Elia. It felt like she had been spending less time with them and more with Vanille lately, and she needed to change that right away.

"Hey, Fang?"

Turning around on the swiveling chair, Fang threw the rubber ball she had held in her hand in Sam's direction. "What's up little lady?"

Samantha's cheeks reddened, and Fang cocked her head to the side. "I was wondering if you…Wanted to have a coffee after your shift?"

Fang stared at the blonde woman for a few moments. Was Samantha asking her on a date or was it simply to get to know her? After all, Sam had arrived only two weeks ago, and they still not had had the time to get to know one another, so why not agree? She could use a friend.

"Yeah, sure! You're done in one hour and a half as well?"

"Yep," Sam quipped with a grin. "We'll meet in front of the studio?"

"Neat, see ya then!" Fang grinned and followed Sam with her gaze as she left the room. Swiftly turning the chair back around, she glanced at her screen and waited a few more seconds before pressing back on the button. "Gotta admit I love this song! Now ya guys know we like to play right? So, if you're hearing two songs of Thirty in a row, call us and try to win the chance to meet them in LA for their upcoming show! But now, let's head back to music and blast some Julia Michaels with _Issues_!"

Letting out a faint sigh, she brought her legs up and placed her feet on the table, crossing them at the ankles with her fingers intertwined behind her head. She whistled the song passing on the radio, mouthing the lyrics she could not hear but vividly remembered as Elia had not stopped playing it on repeat for the past weeks. A smile came to her lips as Elia seemed to truly be doing better. That shrink of hers wasn't such a bad thing after all, even though it had only been seven weeks since the therapy had started. But those weeks had been a true improvement.

Of course, Fang was still insanely worried about her daughter and had spent restless night turning and tossing in her bed thinking about ways to help her daughter get better and had managed to drag both Rhea and Elia out to try new things together, but even though Elia had smiled, Fang had been worried. All she wanted was for the two of them to be okay and was willing to do anything for that to happen.

Reaching out for her cup of coffee, Fang swallowed a mouthful of her lukewarm beverage and kept it tightly in her hand, glancing once more at the time. _Ugh is time still?_ She frowned and finished her coffee in one gulp. Sighing, she placed it back on her desk and came closer to the speaker.

"Let's take a short break, and then we'll be back with everything you've missed this week!"

Standing up from her chair, Fang stretched out her arms and legs before snatching her mug back from the desk. Coming closer to the coffee-machine, she picked up the kettle and poured herself another cup she definitely needed.

At four in the afternoon, Fang was closing back her office and sauntered down the stairs of the studio, smiling and waving at some of her co-workers presenting either the news of the weather. Yanking the back-door opened, she fell face to face with Sam smoking a cigarette, a smile instantly curling her lips upward as their gazes locked.

"Hi Fang! I was afraid you might have forgotten!"

"Nah, don't worry." She smiled and tucked a cigarette between her lips. "Do ya have a place in mind?"

"Yep, there's a coffee place near the beach not far from here. If you're willing to walk for a little bit, of course?"

"Sure, lead the way!"

Inhaling the smoke, she started walking towards the main street and felt the heat of the sun as they lurched out of the shadows. Arching a brow, she fumbled her hand in her bag until her fingertips touched her sunglasses, slowly bringing them out and placing them on the bridge of her nose.

"So, where are ya from actually? You're givin' me a New-York vibe."

"Ha, no," Sam said through a grin, "but close. I'm from Boston. You're from Sydney, right?"

"Yep! But it's been years since I moved away."

"Oh?" Glancing at Sam, Fang slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I moved here when I was…twenty. It was supposed to be for a year, but I decided to stay after all," Fang said with a tight smile.

"You sound like you regret it."

"What? Oh God no, I don't regret it at all," Fang replied, "really not." Taking another drag from her cigarette, she followed Sam down the street, already spotting the blue color of the sea. "Staying here was the best decision I ever made."

"Oh? What made you stay here?"

Looking back at Samantha, Fang sucked in the damp air of mid-February and gazed away. Should she tell her right away of her difficult personal life, so it would not come as a surprise later on? _A surprise for what? This isn't a date, remember?_

"I met someone during that year, and she soon became my wife and then the mother of my two girls," Fang said with a soft sigh.

"Oh. I didn't know you were married."

"Was," Fang said pointing at her ring-finger lacking the wedding band, "not anymore."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Sam seemed to be telling the truth. "And your kids? How old are they?"

"Rhea's eighteen in…two weeks and Elia is fifteen, sixteen at the end of June."

"Oh wow!" Chuckling, Fang nodded. "I'm sorry but you look young to have kids who are eighteen and sixteen."

Flustered by the compliment, Fang only smiled in return. "Nonsense, I look like an old lady now." Samantha nudged her in the shoulder and chuckled as their eyes met through her sunglasses and playfully, Fang nudged her back.

"Okay, we're here! Want to sit outside?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I'll go order something, what do you want?"

Sitting down, Fang brought her fingers to her lips, deeply thinking about what she should now have. Hesitating between a coffee and a beer, she chose for the latter. It was four in the afternoon, she was allowed to have a drink. "A beer seems good. Corona if possible."

Sam smiled and disappeared inside the building, giving Fang the time to think about what had just occurred. Was the nudge something upcoming friends were supposed to do or had Sam flirted with her? And if so, why had she? _Because you told her you were a divorcée, you idiot_. Was this a date? Her stomach started to churn as the realization it might be one. She hadn't gone on a date in years. Was this the right thing to do? Was she ready? _Stop asking yourself thousand of questions!_

"Fang?" Jerking her head up, Fang held out a breath at the sight of Serah standing still with Daniel grinning in her direction. "Hi!"

"Hey Serah," Fang said slightly panicking. She stood up and gave her ex-sister-in-law a hug. It had been weeks since she had seen Serah. "Hey little one," she then said as she glanced down at Daniel.

"Hey, Auntie Fang!"

"What are you guys doin' here," Fang asked still standing like a statue.

"This one asked for comics, so he doesn't get bored during the trip," Serah said with a smile, "we're going to New-York for a few days."

"Right, Vanille told me about that," Fang said, casting a glance over her shoulder to make sense of Sam's whereabouts.

Unsure of what to tell one another, Serah let out a sigh at the same time Fang did, the two of them glancing at one another with sheepish smiles. _God_. Flinching at the sound of Sam's voice, Fang turned around and gazed at the blonde-headed woman, a blush creeping up her neck. She was caught red-handed with another woman, great.

"Oh." She glanced back at Serah. "Vanille mentioned you were seeing someone." _What?_ "Hi, I'm Serah, nice to meet you."

"I'm Sam, pleasure!"

Watching the handshake in a slow-motion, Fang slowly sat back down on her chair, feeling as if her blood had been drained out of her body and sucked into the ground.

"You have a new friend too," Daniel quipped with a grin, "I saw Auntie Light's new friend too!" Fang frowned. Had Alex met Daniel? Who else had this woman gotten the chance to meet?

"Well it was good to see you, Fang," Serah said after another moment of silence, "I wish you a good afternoon! See you soon."

"Bye Fang!"

"Bye guys," Fang said as she looked up from the ground, throwing her most pleasant smile in their direction. Waving at Daniel, she exhaled the air she had kept in her lungs and glanced back at Samantha sitting down by her side. "I'm not seeing anyone," she said, immediately mentally slapping herself for trying to find an explanation to what Vanille had told Serah.

"Don't worry, this is nothing but a beer shared between two women," Sam said. "Although this woman would like to see the other one over drinks sometimes or even dinner?"

Fang opened up her mouth to deny but promptly stopped dead in her tracks. Why wouldn't she agree? Lightning had moved on, and they had made it clear that they were done and buried. Perhaps was it time for her to also get her head back up from underneath the ground. Sam was pretty and seemed like someone she could get interested in, so why not take the leap?

Gazing in her direction, Fang slowly nodded and picked up her beer from the table. Flashing a grin, she said; "I'd love to have dinner with you one day," and clicked the two bottles together.

Maybe had she been staring at the wrong page of her book. Maybe was it time to start a new chapter and write it however she wanted it to be. Swallowing a mouthful of her Corona, Fang smiled again and relaxed back in the chair, ready to start something new, with _someone_ new.

* * *

"Don't be mean!"

"I'm not going to be mean," Rhea said as she pushed the coffee's door open, "I just want to tease her a bit." Sweeping the room like a scanner in an airport, flashing a toothy grin at the sight of Elia standing behind the counter and chatting with another employee. "Oh, oh, oh, let's have a laugh, shall we?" Coming closer to the counter, she pressed both of her palms on the surface and waited for her sister to acknowledge her presence. She cleared her throat and observed.

As Elia darted in her direction with a plastered smile, it took not more than a second for the smile to turn into a frown, glancing both at her and Charlotte rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Coming closer to the counter, she settled her stare on Rhea and faked a smile. "Hello, what can I get you today," she asked as politely as she could.

"I'll have a Trenta, no foam, five-shot half-caf, no foam pumpkin spice latte with no foam at 210 degrees," Rhea said with a composed tone of voice, drumming her manicured fingernails up against the counter. "Presto."

"Nice try, that's from _Scream Queens_ you nerd," Elia pointed out with a frown. "Did you come here just to mock me?"

"No," Rhea said with a frown. "I'm sorry, does your job description entail arguing with your customers, thereby delaying the moment at which they receive the irresistible nutmeggy sweetness of the extra hot, no foam, pumpkin spice latte they've been thinking about all day? I mean, God!"

Glancing at Charlotte, Elia asked, "Has she been repeating that all day long?" Charlotte nodded and shrugged. "You're a child! Now tell me what you really want Rhea."

"Fine, fine. But first," she said with a finger in the air, "admit it was funny."

"Ah-ah," Elia said. She smiled and shook her head. "So, black coffee, no sugar?"

"Yep," Rhea quipped. "What about you Char'?"

"The same thing, thanks Elia and sorry about her…" Charlotte said pointing at Rhea.

Chuckling, Elia went behind the machines and started to prepare for the two coffees her customers had ordered, Rhea and Charlotte already going to a table further away from the counter and sitting down next to a window. Stealing a few glances in their direction, Elia smiled as she spotted their fingers intertwining and glanced back at Paul grinning in her direction.

"What," she asked, careful not to burn herself with the extra-warm coffee.

"Nothing! You just remind me of me and my sister. She liked to do that kind of stuff to bug me."

Softly smiling, Elia placed the two cups on a tray and darting back at Paul she said; "Yeah, I know the feeling." Sighing, she picked up the tray and carried it in direction of the two lovebirds, their fingers parting as Elia appeared with their order.

Glancing up at her sister, Rhea thanked her with a smile and grabbed her by the wrist the second she was ready to disappear back behind the counter with a pleading look on her face. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Can't this wait? I need to work, Rhea," Elia said as her brows furrowed.

"I'll be quick."

Rolling her eyes, Elia sharply nodded. "What is it?"

Grinning, Rhea pulled a chair closer and waited for Elia to sit down, letting out an exaggerated sigh as she decided to stay standing. Running a hand through her hair, she pushed a few strands away and tucked them behind her right ear, glancing back at Charlotte, and then back at her sister.

"When Serah and Snow come back, I want to take everyone to a karaoke night," Rhea said.

Confused, Elia arched her left brow and sat down on the chair, processing the stupid idea Rhea had offered. "What?"

"Yeah. So you, me, mum, mom, Serah, Van', Snow, Hope and Charlotte," Rhea continued before blowing on her warm coffee, " _and_ the best part is that _we_ will choose the sons they'll sing."

"Rhea that's by far the worst idea you ever had," Elia said, "how on Earth can you think this will go without a fight?"

"Because _weee_ are going to make sure they're drunk!"

Face-palming herself, Elia jumped back on her feet and sighed heavily as she marched back towards the counter, her head shaking ever so slightly. Glancing back up at her sister and seeing her shrug, Elia let out another sigh, wondering how she even managed to come up with ideas that only kept getting dumber, and dumber. _Well thanks to her you got the help you need, sort off_ , Elia's mental voice told her. _Maybe this could be fun. And seeing them sing could definitely be something worth watching_.

She sighed and picked up the dirty dished from the counter and brought them into the kitchen, smiling at the employees smiling back at her. Placing them next to the sink, she sauntered back out of the room and continued towards her sister, her cheeks burning as she spotted Rhea and Charlotte kissing over their coffees. Spinning around, she waited a few more seconds for her cheeks to lose their red color and cleared her throat before turning back around, glad to see the two had finished their make-out session.

Coming closer, she sat back down on the chair and noticed the beam Rhea was now wearing, a few traces of Charlotte's make-up coloring her own lips. Ignoring them, she gazed strongly inside her eyes and sighed.

"Okay, so. How would you have the karaoke guy agree to have the songs played?"

"That's where Char' comes in," Rhea said pointing at her girlfriend.

"Yes. I know the guy who owns the place from my uncle, and I've already talked to him about it. He's okay to add the songs but he needs a list tomorrow night."

"Meaning you and I need to come up with ideas," Rhea said. "You wouldn't happen to have any right now?"

She shook her head. "No not right now, but I'll think about it." Glancing towards the door, Elia bounced to her feet and bolted back behind the counter, her smile already back to her lips. Looking at her new customer, she said; "Hi! What can I get you today?" And went on with her shift, focused only on what Rhea had planned. _This will definitely be fun_.

* * *

Lightning hadn't been in the mood to go out, and especially not to a karaoke place but after Rhea's pleadings, Lightning had given up and agreed to go with her and Charlotte. Her week had been long and tiring, having spent most of her time at the hospital helping a fellow OB/GYN, adding a few hours more to her already long weeks. Singing had therefore not been on her agenda on a Friday night. But the promise of alcohol had been brought to her attention, and now that Rhea was allowed to drive in the presence of an adult, drinking would not be an issue.

Sighing as they arrived in front of the establishment, Lightning flicked her cigarette further away on the pavement and pushed the door open, the heat already making her sweat from head to toe. Scanning the room for a table, she spotted one with at least six chairs, a mass of pink-hair already seated. _Serah?_ Arching a brow, she felt a string grip grabbing her by the wrist and was led towards the same table, Serah and Snow's head turning to gaze at them confused. _What the fuck?_

"Uh…Hi? Elia told us to meet her here and ask for the _big table_ ," Serah said standing up from her seat, "I wasn't aware you'd be there as well."

Frowning some more, she sharply turned around and bore her stare into Rhea's. "What did you do now?"

"Oh." Lightning looked up, gazing at Vanille. "Hi everyone."

"Rhea," Lightning said trough gritted teeth, "who else is coming?"

Before Rhea could answer, Lightning's head instantly jerked up at the scent of a perfume she immediately recognized, facing her ex-wife accompanied by her youngest child. She stared for a few moments, the cords of her neck tensing with her shoulders.

"I need a drink," Lightning said as she spun around on her heels, storming in direction of the bar with her sister. Elbowing against the counter, she rubbed her temples with her forefingers, breathing in and out long and slow breaths to calm the anger that had started to dangerously build up inside of her. Rhea would not go out of this easily. There had been things she had been able to overlook, but this was not.

"Light? I swear I didn't know," Serah said with a forced smile.

"Oh, I know. It's Rhea all over again." Sighing, Lightning ordered a glass of wine and exchanged it with a ten-dollar bill. Turning around, she gazed at the table and reluctantly walked back in its direction.

Sitting down next to her sister's empty chair and Rhea's, Lightning placed the drink to her lips and swallowed one mouth, and then another. She definitely needed the alcohol now. The song _Should I stay or should I go_ played throughout the bar, and letting out a snort, Lightning's eyes settled to Fang.

Glaring at one another in one of the most uncomfortable silences they had lived to date, Serah glanced at the entire table with pinched lips, shaking her head ever so slightly as Rhea glanced up at her. Noticing her niece's wince, she realized Rhea had still the idea of getting her mothers back together which, based on the dirty looks they had been shooting at each other, would not happen anytime soon.

"Should I cool it or should I blow," Snow sang next to her, trying his best to ease the tension running through everyone's veins. "Should I stay or should I go now?"

"If I go there will be trouble," Serah continued with a grin.

"And if I stay it will be double," Vanille sang as joined in.

"So, you gotta let me now," Rhea sang along with a smile, holding Charlotte's hand under the table.

Lightning frowned, listening to the group singing and sighed before pressing her glass to her lips once again, noticing her drink was now nearly empty. The alcohol somehow helped to defuse her anger, feeling it slightly escaping her veins as she looked back up at Fang, her ex-wife darting at both Serah and Vanille with confusion. _Right. Another friendship that turned to ashes. What is wrong with this family?_

"So," Elia said, all eyes turning to her. "You all have one song you'll have to sing. One that represents you. Rhea and I chose them, so you can trust us. After that, you can decide to pick one from the music-book if you so desire!"

Arching a brow, Fang glanced at the two masterminds that had once more, managed to trick everyone into coming to the same place without realizing it.

"It starts at nine, so you have half an hour to get drunk."

"Elia," Lightning said with a shake of her head, "no one is going to get drunk."

"I am," Serah said with a sigh, "I'm a terrible singer!"

Everyone chuckled and the atmosphere slowly relaxed. "I'll go take the order," Vanille said standing up from the chair. "Who wants what?" Grabbing her phone, she typed in the orders and sauntered in direction of the bar with a slight frown. She didn't like this at all and was scared an argument might blow up in the air, either between Fang and Lightning, or herself and Serah. After all, the way they had parted two weeks ago had not been pleasant in the least.

"What can I get you?"

"We'll have…Two glasses of Chardonnay, two long-island, two mojitos, one diet coke, two beers please," Vanille said with a smile.

Watching the man nod, she turned around and went back to the table, looking at Hope, Lightning and Serah casually chatting. Whilst Snow, Fang and Elia were deep into a serious conversation. Sitting down next to Hope, Vanille glanced at Lightning with an impassible face, slightly flinching as the blue color of her eyes bore into hers. She smiled or forced a smile that was immediately returned and breathed a little bit more easily.

"So, you two devils. One song representing us," Serah asked both Rhea and Elia, their heads nodding at the same time. "Oh god. And we know the songs?"

"I hope so," Rhea said through a grin, "If not you're screwed!"

"Language Rhea," Lightning warned with a frown. Glancing up at the waiter, she sighed with relief as her glass of white wine landed before her eyes and the other one in front of Fang. Looking at one another, Lightning immediately darted away and picked up her glass. "Well…Cheers," she said as everyone was served.

"Cheers."

Rhea looked at both of her mothers ignoring each other as if they had been strangers and let out a faint sigh. Feeling Charlotte's fingers squeezing hers, she gave her a small smile and pecked her cheek, amused at a blush crept up her neck. "Cute," she said through a toothy grin.

"Shut up," Charlotte said as her cheeks turned to fire. "Stop looking at me!"

"Can't, you're too pretty."

Fang chuckled at the conversation between her daughter and Charlotte, quickly realizing Lightning had been looking at them with a smile as well. _Do you remember when we used to be like that,_ Fang thought to herself, almost wanting to ask the question burning her lips.

"So, Fang," Snow said with a smile, her attention immediately drawn to him, "how are you? It feels like…ages."

"Yeah tell me 'bout it." She glanced at Lightning staring deadpan at her. "I'm doin' good. Bit busy with the radio now that I'm managing more hours, but it's all good." She smiled and looked back at Snow. "What 'bout ya? How was New-York?"

"Oh, right Serah told me she ran into you," Snow said, "it was awesome. We had fun and Dan was having the time of his life. Other than that, not much is new!"

Lightning glanced at Serah, wondering why she had not been aware of her running into her ex-wife. Frowning as Serah sheepishly smiled at her and averted her gaze, she let out a sigh she had been holding, bringing her glass to her lips. Closing her eyes, she listened to the song passing through the speakers her head slightly bouncing from left to right, wondering if the owner of the establishment was a fan of the Clash as _London Calling_ was turned up an inch.

" _Serah Farron is being requested for the first song of the night!"_

Flinching, Serah nearly spat out her drink through her nose and threw a panicked glance in her sister's direction who, in return, only grinned with mirth. "Do I have to," she whined standing up from her seat.

"Yep! Break down the house Serah," Rhea said with a wink. "You're going to nail it!"

"Bla-bla-bla!" Sighing, she felt thankful for the alcohol already running down her veins, feeling herself being less tensed and anxious to be singing in front of her family and people she did not know.

Being handed a microphone, she reluctantly grabbed it from a man and cleared her throat, glancing at the screen indicating the title of the song. Instantly, Serah smiled and glanced back at her nieces. _Good choice_. Breathing in, she listened to the music already starting and prepared herself for the beginning of the song, all her nervousness cast aside.

"Just a small-town girl, living in a lonely world…"

Vanille looked at Serah with a smile, bouncing her head the more she got into the song, soon dancing on the stage. _Don't stop believing_ fitted her perfectly, there was no saying. Elia and Rhea had done a good job selecting this one for the song representing her. Mouthing the lyrics along with her, she glanced at Fang air-guitaring the solo and shook her head at her sight, pretending to be the best singer in the world before looking back at Serah finishing the song with a perfect pitch.

Applause were given for her performance, and Vanille wondered who would be designated at the second singer of the night. Sipping on her Mojito, she glanced at Serah getting back to her seat, Snow continuing to applaud her. "You have a great voice Serah," Vanille said after a short hesitation.

"Thanks Van." They smiled at each other and meant the smiles on their lips.

" _Rhea Farron is now being requested!"_

She casted a cautious glance in her sister's direction who had chosen the song without telling her which one it would be and sighed as she climbed up the stage. Grabbing the microphone, she grinned at the man and focused her undivided attention to the screen.

A smile curled up her lips as the first notes came out from the speakers, glancing up to Elia with a satisfied, intense smile. And soon enough, she started to sing.

 _"I can swear, I can joke, I say what's one my mind, if I drink, if I smoke, I keep up with the guys, and you'll see me holding up my middle finger to the world, fuck your ribbons and your pearls cause I'm not just a pretty girl. I'm more than just a picture, I'm a daughter and a sister, sometimes it's hard for me to show…"_

"Perfect choice," Elia heard from the right.

She grinned a Charlotte and nodded. "I thought so too." Looking back at Rhea singing Pretty Girl from Maggie Lindemann, Elia knew she had made the perfect choice. Rhea was glad to sing this song, and she had heard it so much even she knew the lyrics to it. Because after all, Rhea wasn't just a pretty girl at all, she was the sister she had always wanted, and if anything, those past weeks had done nothing more but to prove just that.

As the song ended, the first one up was Elia and Rhea did not hesitate to jump from the stage and throw herself between her arms, kissing her sister on the cheek and thanking her for the song she had picked out for her. "I love you," she whispered in her ear, still hugging her tightly. "Never forget that. I'll always be there if you need me Elia, no matter what, no matter when."

Pulling away, they both grinned at one another and sat back down on their chair, Rhea's hand meeting with her mom's. "Nice song."

"Thanks mom."

"It suits you well."

Rhea smiled and squeezed her hand some more, glancing up at her mum grinning at her sight. She too agreed with the song.

 _"Coming up…Snow Villiers!"_

Lightning chuckled as she watched her sister's huge husband standing up from his chair with a grin, snatching the microphone and already acting like a doofus on stage. And when the song _Can't stop Falling in love with you_ stormed out of the speakers, Lightning simply had to suppress a laugh. Yes, Elvis Presley was perfect for him. Acting like a romantic idiot as he sang and only looked at Serah, Lightning couldn't help but to steal glances in Fang's direction, looking at the nape of her neck with a small smile she quickly erased.

After Snow's perfect performance, Vanille, Charlotte and Hope sang the songs Elia and Rhea had picked out for them, perfectly representing their personalities only to be left with the top three. And the more they had sang, the more worried Lightning had become.

 _"Elia Farron, you're up!_ "

Rhea saw the look of terror plastering in Elia's face, but with a nod, she helped her standing up from her chair and walk towards the stage. She observed as she took the microphone and grinned as Elia shook her head ever so slightly at the song, their gazes locking for a few moments before she sang.

And when Elia started, Rhea was mesmerized. Her pitch was absolutely perfect and the way she clicked her fingers with the song added a cool-like vibe to the song. After all, _I'm me_ from Us The Duo was exactly what Elia was; someone who didn't care not to be perfect but was perfect in her own special, unique way. She was hot, she had a personality, she had the brains and the wit. She simply was her sister, and not once had she thought differently from her.

"I'm me."

Elia finished and grinned to the room, applause coming from left and right. Jumping from the stage, she came closer to her older sister and wrapped her arms around her from behind, placing a kiss on her cheek and disappeared back to her seat.

Elia had always liked to sing. Perhaps was it because of Fang, always making her listen to new songs and blasting the music in the car whenever they were together, singing happily like nothing could come in their way, or maybe had she just simply liked singing for a reason she did not know. But as she had looked at the faces of her family when she had started, she knew she could be proud. Because not one of them had not been surprised. And Elia _loved_ surprises.

" _Lightning Farron is now being requested."_

Lightning severely flinched at the mention of her name, her eyes closing with despair. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her drink, gulped it down and sauntered in direction of the stage, her sister already calling for her name and giving her all the best.

Grabbing the microphone with a _thanks_ , she gazed at the screen, wondering what her daughters had chosen for a song representing her. Thousands of ideas flew through her mind, and her anxiety went through the roof within seconds. And when she glanced up and stared right back at Fang, she fought hard for her knees not to quiver. _Relax_. The screen flashed, and her eyes were drawn to it. A smile curled her lips. _Yes._

Fang looked at her with intensity, listening to the band she had been listening non-stop for the past weeks and couldn't help but to smile at the choice. Lightning was indeed a _Do or Die_ woman, there was no denying it. But as she started singing, her world started to spin. She knew Lightning hated to sing, she knew she had always found her voice horrible and not matching the one of the singer, but as she interpreted Jared Leto for four minutes, all she could do was to stare at her with round eyes. And she hated the feeling it brought to her heart.

Unlike the song, she didn't want to let it go. She wanted to try, she wanted her in her arms, in her bed and on her mind twenty-four seven. But why couldn't they? Why couldn't they simply talk like two adults, and put their differences aside, simply try to…talk. _You still love her you stupid, stupid idiot._ She kicked the voice away, looking back at her ex-wife holding the microphone tightly in her hand, not needing the lyrics on the screen to sing the song they both knew. Smiling ever so slightly, Fang took in a sharp breath and gazed some more, applauding when she need to applaud and darting away the second Lightning came down the stage shaking like a leaf. _Cute. No. Shut up!_

"I didn't know you could sing Sis!" _I did. She just never wanted to admit it._ "Well done!"

 _"Fang Yun! Last one to come here, are you ready?"_

"Do I have a choice," she said with a smile. Sighing, she came closer to the stage and forgot about everything.

Trying hard to catch up on her breath, Lightning didn't react when Fang's song started but was quickly drawn to it when her Australian accent brushed her ears. Glancing up, she looked at her with round eyes and did not fight the smile brought to her lips. _Kings and Queens. Girls._ She glanced at Rhea and Elia and focused her attention back on Fang, her voice bringing her knees to quiver once more. _Damn it._

Running a hand through her hair, Lightning found it impossible to breathe, staring at her ex-wife as she sang yet another 30 seconds to Mars' song, and properly nailing it. And yes, it was her. This song was who she was, who she was meant to be and who she had always been. _The love of your life_. She frowned at her mental thoughts, trying hard to shove them away. But at this point, was it really worth resisting?


	18. Alibi

**Yes this story _is_ taking a while but bear with me. I can't go any faster with such a complicated relationship! Maybe this will make you a tad happier though? However, thank you for the people still reading because _I do know_ this is taking a loooong time. Anyway, enjoy, and thanks mates :) **

* * *

Lightning loudly groaned as she tossed and turned on the sofa, reaching out for yet another tissue from the tissue-box. Blowing her nose for the umpteenth time, she let out a heavy sigh through her mouth, her nose-canal now completely blocked. God, she hated the flue. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at the digital clock from her DVD player, the time slowly ticking by and already reaching four in the morning. But had she gotten any sleep?

She coughed as she pushed herself from the sofa and trudged towards the kitchen. Opening up the utility drawer, she fumbled around for a few moments and finally managed to snatch the box of pills she had bought when Rhea had fallen ill, shoving two under her tongue and swallowing them with a mouthful of water from a bottle she grabbed from her refrigerator. With her eyes closed, she elbowed against the island and rubbed her temples, trying hard to fight the headache already throbbing in the back of her head. How stupid had she been to go and smoke outside more than six times during karaoke night, two days ago? It was the only reason she knew to have fallen ill so quickly.

She sighed at the memories of the night. It had started in an uncomfortable manner and had turned to be an evening she had enjoyed spending with her sister, daughters…and even Fang. They hadn't talked, but they hadn't yelled either. They had simply glanced at each other from time to time and fainted smiles, which had been the biggest improvements since they had seen each other since New Year's Eve.

But how she had wanted to talk to her, to simply ask how she was going and if everything at work was good. Simply to have a conversation between two adults without holding grudges of some kind… Why couldn't she let go? _No_. Why couldn't _they_ let go? She ran both her hands through her hair, trying to put her brain to a stop for at least a couple of minutes. She couldn't bare over-thinking about her situation anymore.

"Mom?"

Flinching, Lightning snapped her eyes open and glanced at her daughter walking in her direction in her pajamas. She thanked the darkness for hiding the scars covering Elia's arms, still finding it hard to look at the pain Elia had inflicted upon herself.

"You look like hell mom."

"Why thank you," Lightning said, her voice husky and coarse. "I just caught a cold."

"Let me check your temperature," Elia said as she sauntered towards her. The coldness of her hand against her forehead felt like heaven, and for a second, Lightning wanted to press her palm against hers to keep the coldness. "Mom you're burning up!"

"It's fine," she said with a small smile, "I just need to sleep, and I'll be fit tomowow."

"Mom, you need to rest for more than a couple of hours." Lightning shook her head. "Mom, don't fight me on this. Please got to sleep. In your bed, not the couch?"

Sighing, Lightning glanced at her daughter but couldn't resist the urge to smile. Grabbing the bottle of water back from the island, she followed her daughter down the hallway and stopped in front of her door. Snatching the handle, she pushed it down and entered the room, crashing up against the mattress.

"Elia honey?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Can you wake me up in the morning, so I can go to work?"

"Ah-uh. Sleep, tight mom."

"I love you honey."

She didn't hear the answer as her eyes fluttered shut, already being led to the deepest sleep she had in weeks.

* * *

Elia arrived at home at four in the afternoon after her classes, not surprised to have seen her mother still in her bed surrounded by tissues, her eyes tightly shut. She had made sure her assistant would reschedule all the appointments for the two next following days, and after giving her mother strong medication for the flue, had went to school on foot with a smile.

Sitting down at the dining-room table, Elia was focused on her physics essay when the sound of a sneeze followed by another one sounding closer to her location. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled as her mother emerged from the hallway in her pajama's. She looked sicker than yesterday, and her smile faded away.

"Elia…What time is it?"

"It's five in the afternoon mom." The look of terror on her mother's face was the exact proof she needed the time to rest. "I called your office mom and told Cindy you wouldn't be there for the next forty-eight hours."

"What? But I need to…"

"Rest," Elia severely interjected. "Rhea's with Charlotte as usual so I'm going to order some chicken soup for you."

Lightning frowned and shook her head. "I could use the rest…But work, my patients…"

"I'm sure these women wouldn't want you to sneeze in their…"

"Okay, okay," Lightning said hands up, "you win!"

Grinning, Elia jumped from her seat and marched towards the kitchen. Grabbing the phone, she gazed at the fridge and typed in the number of delivery-services of the Restaurant called _Soup'n'Foop_ , her fingernails drumming against the island as her mother coughed again. She winced with disgust but managed to order the chicken soup she knew her mother would devour, hanging up with a smile as she glanced at Lightning seated on the couch with a quilt covering her shoulders.

Arching a brow, she snatched the box of pills that had been left on the island and sauntered in her mother's direction with a small smile, already taking two and handing them in her direction as she sat down next to her.

"Thank you honey…I don't like it, you taking care of me like that when I should be the one…"

"Mom? Please stop?" Confusion spread across her face. "You've been great okay? And so has mum. But right now, you're sick and I'll make sure you get better."

She smiled and intertwined their fingers together, glancing up at her and immediately looking elsewhere. _This isn't the right time_ , she told herself through a frown, _she's sick._

"Do you mind if I go back to my essay?"

"Not at all." She paused. "Do you need help?"

"Depends," Elie said jumping from the couch, "do you know anything about quantum mechanics?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah, me too." Sitting back down, she glanced at her books, papers and let out a sigh. "Why did I take applied physics?"

"Because you always liked it," Lightning said after a cough, "when you were a child you kept asking about physics." Elia turned around and gazed at her mother's back. "I was able to help a bit, but you mostly wanted books to explain it to you." Elia was about to speak up but was interrupted by her mother's voice. "And Fang was so lost it was hilarious. She just looked at us and managed to understand a lot, but she never liked science. It's funny since you came out of her, and Rhea of me."

Smiling as her mother continued to ramble on about her childhood and her undeniable love for physics, Elia stood up from the chair and walked inside the kitchen. She picked up the bottle of Fanta along with two glasses and sauntered back to the dining-room but continued towards the living-room with a broad smile crinkling the corner of her eyes. She sat down on the ground and poured the two glasses, handing one of them to her mother.

"Thank you, sweetheart, my throat is _killing_ me."

"Do you know how you could've gotten sick?"

"Possibly. I guess it happened because I smoked a lot outside during the karaoke night, and since it wasn't really warm outside and boiling inside, the change of temperature triggered a cold," Lightning said in all seriousness, thinking about it as if her life might have depended on it. "But anyway."

"Did you enjoy the night by the way mom? You were gone the next day and you came home late and then well…You slept."

Elia grinned as her mother threw a playful glare in her direction. "I did enjoy the night. More than I thought I would when I saw Vanille and Fang." She paused and sighed. "But in the end, you girls managed to get something good out of it."

"But you and mum didn't even talk."

"It's true, but we also didn't yell. Which happened a lot lately." Her tone grew more serious and her brows furrowed, but as quickly as her features had changed, Lightning smiled again. "Anyway, thank you Elia."

"For what?"

"A lot of things."

Elia's brows quirked up, but Lightning simply smiled once more, drinking her glass of Fanta with a pleased hum. Letting out a soft sigh, she looked out the window and gazed at the garden, surprised to see the darkening color of the clouds storming in their direction. Cocking her head to the side, she snatched her cellphone from her pocket and pressed on the weather app, looking at the warning of an impending storm.

"Storm coming."

"Yeah I can see that." Glancing up from her phone, Elia looked at her mom gazing through the window, her lips pinched, and her brows furrowed once more.

"Mom are you okay?"

"I should be the one asking you do," Lightning said as she gazed back at her with the same look on her face. "How are you feeling, Elia?"

Sharply sucking in the air, she stood up from the ground and marched towards the couch. Throwing herself next to her mother, she lifted her green-colored eyes up and bore them inside her mom's. "I'm doing okay." There was no point in lying. She didn't want to pretend anymore. "I have off-days where I feel really low but I write down what I'm feeling and why I'm feeling like that, it helps in a way." She smiled to reassure her mother, panic shimmering from her eyes. "I'm not…fucking up anymore, if that's what you're asking."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say the f-word but no, I was asking how you were feeling because I want you to know you can always talk to me. Even when I'm running a fever. I'll always have time for you."

"That's funny," Elia said as her gaze lowered to her hands.

"What is?"

"Mum told me the same thing a few days ago."

"Well she loves and cares about you. We all are."

"Yeah I know." She frowned. She wanted to say it but found it impossible to do. "I know mom."

"Speaking of which…" she paused for a while and fluttered her eyes shut. "Hm."

"What? What's up mom you're whiter than this morning!"

"Elia sweetie, I need you not to freak-out and do exactly how I say, okay?"

Panic build up in her stomach. Lightning seemed ill, and even more than before. "Mom what's going on?"

"I believe my appendix just ruptured," she said through a wince. "Can you call the hospital for me?"

"Oh my god yes." Jumping to her feet, she snatched her cell-phone from the coffee-table and pressed 911. Explaining the situation thoroughly and promised an ambulance in a short moment, Elia stuffed her phone back in her pocket and gave her mother a look of utter panic and terror. "Mom are you alright?"

"Yes. Well I'm fine considering."

"How do you know it's that?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I threw up this morning when you were in class and then I had abdominal pain that knocked me out cold on the bed. When I woke up earlier I was still in pain and with the fever…I put the dots together."

"Mom that's serious why didn't you go earlier?"

"I was sleeping and…it's not that serious Elia. Appendectomy is not a complicated procedure. I'll be just fine. IF it's that, I'm not even sure."

"You're a physician, you know what you're talking about." Elia was trying hard to keep her tone composed, but the panic she experienced was going through the roof. "How can you be so calm?"

"I think I'm pretty high from the drugs and the fever." Elia frowned and pressed her hand back on her mother's forehead. She was still hot, but hadn't gained a degree during the day. "Oh I guess that's me."

Glancing over her shoulder, Elia bolted towards the door and abruptly opened it up, looking at two paramedics coming her way with a stretcher.

"Are you Elia," one asked with a small smile.

"Yes, my mother is…"

"Right here," Lightning said with a hand pressed to her stomach.

Breathing in, Elia observed as she was laid down, turning around and snatching her bag she filled to brim with her books before storming out of the house keys in hands.

"Can I come with you," she asked glancing up at the two medics nodding at her.

"Elia you need to work, I'll be just fine and…"

"Mom, don't fight this." Already climbing inside the ambulance, Elia sat down and grabbed her mother's hand, intertwining their fingers as the medics checked her blood-pressure. Glancing at Lightning, a short smile curled up her lips. Lightning had always said Fang was the rock, but as she looked at the look on her face trying to reassure her, she understood she too had been one. "I love you mom."

"You're making it sound like I'm going to die," Lightning said in a chuckle, quickly wincing as she giggled on the stretcher. "I'll be fine honey."

"You better," Elia warned with a finger pointed in her direction. Smiling, she brought a kiss to her forehead and prayed for her mother to be right. All she wanted was for her to be fine.

* * *

Rhea brought her lips to Charlotte's neck, sucking the skin and grinning as a moan escaped her partners lips. She let her hands wander along her naked torso, her fingers circling around her hardening nipple.

"Stop teasing me devil," Charlotte said as Rhea looked up at her, her teeth biting into the side of her breast.

"You should ask nicely then," Rhea drawled, pressing a deep kiss on her lips. Her phone buzzed on the desk but busy going down on her girlfriend, she ignored it once. Then twice and thrice. Jerking her head up, she growled and snatched the phone, ready to turn it off when her eyes widened. "Oh my god."

"What?"

"Elia called me…eight times. I have to call her back." Throwing an apologetic look at Charlotte, she lingered a tad longer at the sight of her nipples still hard before turning around, her phone already at her ear. "Elia, what's going on?"

 _"Oh, thank god you answered. Mom is at the hospital!"_

Her eyes widely opened, and she spun around to cast Charlotte a terrified gaze. "What? What happened? Is she okay?"

 _"She's going through surgery in an hour for an appendectomy. She didn't want me to worry you but I thought you should know. I also called Serah, she's coming in twenty-minutes. If you call her she might pick you up from Charlotte's."_

"Wait no, no we're at home with mum. I'll ask her to drive me."

 _"Are you sure that's a good idea?"_

"I don't give a toss if it's a good idea Elia, Mom is in the hospital and _she_ is driving me! I'm here in half-an-hour, tops!"

 _"Okay. Second floor, room 16. California Hospital."_

She hung up the phone, Charlotte already putting her clothes back on. Without a word, Rhea bolted out of the bedroom still slightly flustered by the fact they just had sex now mixed with an extreme amount of anxiety. Spotting her mum typing on her computer, Rhea stormed in her direction and tossed her headset away from her ears.

"Rhea what the hell?"

"Mom's in the California hospital you _have_ to drive me!"

"What?" Closing her laptop, Fang brows grew degrees higher. "Yes sure, let's go now."

"Great, thanks mum."

"Sure."

Running back towards her bedroom, it's only then that Rhea realized she had addressed to her mother while wearing nothing but her panties and an opened shirt. But putting her shame aside, she snatched her skinny jeans from the ground and put them back on before buttoning her shirt back, not bothering herself with the fact her bra was hanging on the chair.

"Do you want me to come with you Rhea?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Rhea fainted a smile and bounced towards Charlotte. "Please, yes."

"No problem."

"Rhea let's go!"

Grabbing her by the hand, Rhea led Charlotte out of the room and snatched her purse from the ground on her way out, already rushing towards the door and walking down the stairs as fast as she possibly could. She had heard of appendectomy during her classes and knew the surgery was common, but this was her mother undergoing it and the thought of anything wrong happening made her stomach lurch.

Stopping in front of the car, she bounced on the back-seat with Charlotte, waited for her mother to start the car and remained completely silent during the way to the hospital. Sighing and running her hands through her hair, Rhea's heart was beating so fast she had the feeling it might explode between her lungs. _Please, please, please…I can't even pray. Why don't I believe in God, goddammit!_ She frowned to herself. _That's why probably_.

Glancing out the window, she spotted the hospital in the distance, her hands clutching the fabric of her jeans and squeezing it even harder than ever before. Even Charlotte's comforting hand on her shoulder was of no help, her thoughts only focused on her mother lying in a hospital bed, probably in pain and in fear of going through surgery. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, breathing in and out to calm herself down but even that didn't seem to make a single difference. As the car stopped, Rhea jerked her head up and unbuckled her belt, already bolting out of the car and storming towards the entrance of the hospital.

Glancing right and left, she waited for Charlotte and her mother to rejoin with her and went towards the elevator, her fingers pressing on the button for what had seemed a thousand times, hopping it would therefore get on the ground-floor even faster. But at this point, nothing was fast enough.

"Come on you stupid piece of shit," she roared through gritted teeth.

"Rhea…"

"Right, right…" she sighed and jumped between the doors at the chime of the bell, pressing on the second button with as much vigor than before. _Come on, come on…_

Fang breathed in, looking at Rhea's hair on the nape of her neck standing straight. Why was Lightning in the hospital? What had happened? This felt too much like a deja-vu and the cold sweat she felt rolling down her spine did not help to forget about her anxiety.

As the bell chimed again, she followed her daughter rushing through the hallways of the hospital, leading both her and Charlotte in direction of the room before abruptly yanking the door open of room sixteen. For a second, Fang stopped dead in her tracks, wondering if her presence was necessary or not. _We meet for important things. This was important, wasn't it?_ Breathing in and out, she clenched her fists and peaked her head through the door, slightly waving at Serah and Elia seated next to the bed.

"Rhea I'm fine, don't worry."

"Of course I worry! You're in the hospital you expect me not to be worried?"

"Yes well…Oh." Fang glanced up to Lightning, observing the pale complexion of her face. "Hiya, Fang."

"Hey Light," she said. Slowly walking in, she tried to forget about Lightning's pained expression. "How are ya feelin'?"

She sighed and brought herself up, leaning against the headboard. "Tired and anxious. Wondering why my stupid appendix decided to chose now to explode," Lightning said as she pointed at the right side of her stomach.

"Mom is…high," Elia warned through a faint smile.

"No shit Sherlock." Fang looked back at Lightning. She seemed so fragile and vulnerable but the smile she had on her face was nothing but bright. "When's the operation?"

"Um…Twenty-minutes I think." She sighed again, and Fang forced herself not to smile.

"Lightning?"

Everyone turned around in the room and Fang's heart skipped at beat at the sight of a brown-haired woman standing under the frame of the door, looking directly at her. Frowning, she moved to the side and let the woman she only assumed to be Alex come closer to Lightning who, surprisingly, did not look pleased.

"Well this is fucking awkward," Lightning blurted out with a sigh, Fang chocking on her own saliva as she tried to hold onto her laughter. "Don't die Fang, we don't need the two mothers on their deathbed at the same time."

"Mom, oh my god!"

"Oh I'm joking Rhea, don't look so serious!"

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Fang bore her eyes in Lightning's and was surprised as her ex-wife smiled in her direction. _She's really high…_

"Wow a lot of people here! Hey Light, are you ready?"

"Can I say no?"

"Sadly no," the doctor said with a reassuring smile, "but don't worry, I've done this operation many times, you're in good hands." Fang sucked in the air, drawing his attention to her. "Oh, Miss Yun I hadn't seen you. Fear not, your wife should be just fine."

"Ex-wife," Fang pointed out, "but please make sure she does."

The doctor nodded in her direction and she moved to the side to let the bed be brought out of the room. Gazing at Lightning's pink-colored hair, Fang slumped her shoulders and threw herself on a chair with her face in her palms, her head shaking ever so slightly.

"How long is the operation," she heard Rhea ask with a worried tone.

"It depends, but it lasts one hour and a half approximatively," Serah answered back with the same worry. "Fang, are you okay?"

Lifting her head up, she gazed at Serah and slowly nodded in her direction. "Yeah, yeah. I hate hospitals I suppose."

Rhea came closer and grabbed her hand. Intertwining their fingers, Fang smiled in her direction and pushed a few blonde strands away from her eyes.

"Can we wait here mum?"

"Of course, anythin' ya want." She sighed and stood up from her seat. "I could use a coffee though."

"Let me come with you." Frowning, Fang gazed in Alex's direction with a fake smile. _Do ya fuckin' have to?_

Leaving the room with clenched fists, Fang tried hard not to turn around and throw her fist against her jaw, probably knocking her down with one single hit. But instead, she only fumbled through her pockets and brought out a few pennies, dropping them inside the machine and pressing on a black coffee, no cream, no sugar. She needed it at this point.

"It's nice of you to come."

"Yes well, I'm not going to ignore Lightning when she's undergoing an operation," Fang answered without turning around.

"Hm."

She frowned and grabbed her coffee from the machine before spinning around. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm glad. She might think I'm blind, but I know she still cares about you. So that you're here probably did her a lot of good," Alex said as she dropped her own pennies in the coffee-machine. "So thanks."

Fang dropped her gaze to her boots and frowned even more. Did that stupid British woman have to be so nice? This just added one more thing to a long list of things she wished she had never seen.

* * *

Lightning fidgeted on the bed. The pain was gone which was nice but the sensation in her body felt odd. _Wait where am I?_ Flickering her eyes open, she glanced at the room with round eyes and let out a small chuckle as she realized she might be in hell, alone in a room whiter than the color of her ass. The thought made her chuckle again, and Lightning stretched out on the bed.

Her head was spinning but she felt happy, relaxed and composed. She smiled at the ceiling and slowly brought her attention to the door as it clicked open.

"Oh, you're awake."

"Hey there," Lightning said through a grin, "I must look like shit, don't I?"

"Well ya do look kinda tired but I wouldn't say like shit."

Lightning cocked her head to the side. "You look weird."

"I guess I was worried." Fang let out a small smile. "I'll warn Alex."

"Oh no don't. Stay here with me. Please?"

"Sure? She's your girlfriend after all."

"Oh, who cares," Lightning said with a wave of her hand, "I want you to be here, not her."

Fang chuckled as she sat down on a chair, gazing up to meet with two judging blue eyes. Her pupils were widely dilated but her smile was still there. "You're very high."

"Nah, not true." She paused for a moment and glanced up at the bags. "Wait I have to pee. Can you help me?"

"Uh…sure?"

"Great. Help me up." She handed out her hand, waiting for Fang to grab it. "Come on woman, I don't want to pee in the bed or your shoes!"

"God you're bossy when you're high!"

"I'm always bossy, you should know that," Lightning quipped as she finally steadied her weight on the floor. "So are you dating anyone?"

Taken by surprise, it took everything Fang had not to trip and fall head first on the ground. Glancing at her ex-wife, she wondered if Lightning would remember any of this the following day or if her brain would erase the entire conversation. Not knowing, she decided to tell the truth;

"Uh yeah. I've been seeing her for a week. Nothin' special though, not like ya and Alex."

"Oh please," Lightning said sitting down on the toilet, "we haven't had sex yet. I don't want to, it's weird."

"Weird," Fang asked, trying hard not to grin at the news.

"Yeah. I don't want to have sex with someone else than you. I don't fucking know why." Lightning glanced up. "Can you turn around? I don't want you to see me pee."

Turning around, Fang crossed her arms on her chest and listened with a small smile as Lightning sighed with utter relief, peeing more than a horse after two days of abstinence. "Feelin' good there?"

"Oh yeah. I could sleep on the toilet to be honest…"

"Please don't? I don't want to wipe your ass."

"You've gotten really rude Fang," Lightning pointed out as she flushed the toilet, "Wait, no. You were always rude. Sort off." She chuckled to herself and met Fang's gaze as she turned around. "Thank you, Fang."

"For what?"

"For coming. Helping me. I know you made things clear that you hated me so…"

"Woah, I don't hate ya Light." She looked dead serious, slightly frowning as she uncrossed her arms. "I never hated ya."

"Good, me neither. I miss you." She took a step closer and grinned, her right hand reaching for her shoulder. "I miss you so much."

"You're high as a kite Light, ya should get some rest."

She groaned and let herself be led back to her bed, the room spinning as she exited the bathroom and getting into bed was harder than she would've believed. Had it been so high when she had gotten out of it? And why was the beeping so loud?

"I may be high, but you've always known me to be honest," Lightning said as she finally managed to sit down on the bed.

"I do, but I've also known ya high Light." Her tone was serious, and Lightning shivered. All she wanted was to kiss her. To grab her hand and feel her warmth, to taste her lips and let her tongues touch. _Should I?_

"Kiss me."

"Sorry what?"

"Kiss me, Fang," Lightning repeated, dead-serious.

"Lightnin' ya are high, ya don't want me to…"

She might've been high, but her strength was exactly the same. Or maybe Fang had been lacking it completely and had not fought when her collar had been grabbed and her face had been pulled. She didn't care at this point because as her lips touched Lightning's her entire body reacted.

It was a feeling like nothing else, something strong and running through her veins from head to toe. Her eyes flickered shut, the kiss deepening and tongues meeting as both of their lips parted, and sooner rather than later, Fang was on the bed sitting on top of Lightning, her hands running in her soft, pink-colored hair, forgetting about everything that had happened in the past three years.

But when the moment passed and reality interfered, Fang's eyes snapped back open and it took everything she had to jump out the bed with a fast-beating heart. She stared at Lightning's eyes, noticing her cheeks reddening as she too realized what had occurred, and without thinking, turned back around to open the door and stormed out of the room without a look back.

It's amusing how when you think you fucked everything up, something still manages to crush your entire existence. And for all she knew, Lightning would never remember the kiss. But she sure would.


	19. Running up that hill

**_Thanks again for the reviews :) This chapter is really short, way shorter than the others. I needed a break to figure out where my NEXT chapter would go. Hope you'll like it :) xxx_**

* * *

 _Lightning stared at the bottle of white wine with a deadly stare. Anger was the only thing that had been allowed to enter the fiber of her soul, to make her feel something, anything at all. Anger was better than pain, than regret and sorrow. It had always been like this. Anger had always been the quickest way to ignore your true feelings._

 _She wanted to scream, to shout and get an answer to her many questions. But she also knew screaming wouldn't be enough. Nothing would ever be enough anymore._

 _All she kept focusing on was him, and he was gone. And all she wanted to do, was to die. To sink, to disappear underground. She wanted to be gone. She wanted everything to be gone. Never would she have believed that such a pain existed, a pain so strong and deep that no matter what she tried to do, nothing would ever change. She would always remember those words, those tears running down her cheeks as the life inside of her died, as the son she had carried gave up on the life he had yet to start living. How could anyone forget a moment like this? How could you not feel angry, and remorseful?_

 _Sniffling, she picked up the bottle of wine from the island and poured herself another drink, one too many perhaps, but one she knew she needed. She simply needed the pain to be gone, no matter how she would try to push it away._

 _"Hey."_

 _"Hey."_

 _She didn't bother to glance up from her drink because she knew the pain would come back all over again. She didn't want to face the harm she had also caused to her wife, the one person she loved more than anything in her life. She couldn't even look at Fang anymore without feeling broken-hearted because of the obvious pain she too was feeling, a pain she wasn't even able to erase because she tried too hard fighting her own. And pain had been replaced by anger…And anger had always been a bomb only waiting to explode._

 _"Did ya eat?"_

 _"No," she answered, her tone cold and devoid of any feelings. "But suit yourself."_

 _"What about pasta with pesto?"_

 _Looking up from her glass for the first time in the last thirty minutes, Lightning fought hard not to focus her attention on the dark-rings under her wife's eyes. Why did her pain make her angry? What should change inside to survive and do something to help her? Why couldn't she simply reach out and take her hand, hold it as hard as she possibly could and hope that together, they would make it through? Where had her hope gone to?_

 _"Yes, I suppose it will do."_

 _Suppressing her tears as hard as she possibly could, Lightning looked at Fang without cracking the marble that had started to surround her weeks before and had only gotten stronger in time. And soon, she knew that the walls she had built would become indestructible. But for some reason…she didn't mind anymore. Because anything was better than pain. Because she had enough of it._

 _Standing up from the stool, she quietly made her way towards the living-room with her glass and bottle in hand, making sure both Elia and Rhea hadn't been abruptly awoken from the sudden noises in the house that had remained deadly quiet, sighing with relief as not a sound was uttered from either of them. Sitting down and placing the glass and bottle on the table, Lightning let out a heavy sigh, her ragged breath unable to hide her mix of emotions blowing out of proportion between her lungs._

 _"What happened to us?"_

 _Flinching, Lightning looked to her left. She stared at Fang looking down at her own feet with her arms crossed on her chest, leaning up against the wall. "What do you mean?"_

 _"I mean…" Fang paused and sucked in the air between her lungs. "Why aren't we able to look at one another anymore?"_

 _Lightning shook her head, focusing her attention back on her glass she promptly picked up from the table, allowing not only one but three mouthfuls to run down her throat._

She fought hard. She tried to forget and erase, to rewind and play another sequence to her memories, as wretched as they were. She didn't want to feel this again, but for some reason, she felt the need to. She needed to find a reason to why everything had shattered on the ground. But the more she thought, the worse everything got. Was _this_ her fault? Had she been the reason they had met their demise?

 _Breathing in the air, Lightning decided to ignore the person standing only a few feet away from her, convincing herself that forgetting was better than living. It was better this way. Was it?_

She pinched her lips as the tears fought to be shed, she tried as hard as possible not to feel anything anymore because it was easier. But what did it mean? Did it mean that without the pain, she'd be able to solve everything? To change anything? And the moment she realized it, everything came crumbling down. Had she done everything only because…it _had_ been easier? Had she tossed the love of her life away because it had been simpler not to feel anything anymore? Had she ruined their lives?

Closing her eyes, Lightning gripped the quilt from her bed with a rage so violent she did not even know if she would be able to survive, forgetting about the physical pain rushing through her body like gasoline tossed onto a burning flame. And it completely devoured her.

 _"So, do ya want to eat?"_

 _"Sure. Guess it's better than an empty stomach, isn't it?"_

 _As Fang did not respond, Lightning's eyes shot up to where she had previously been standing. Like a dagger in her heart, the pain was equal, and perhaps even stronger. How could she spend the rest of her life looking at someone she refused to look at only because of her pain?_

 _"It just needs to be gone," she whispered to herself. "The pain, it needs to go away." Biting her lower lip as hard as she could, Lightning fought again for her tears not to appear. "Make it stop." Thumping both of her fist against the table to stop herself from feeling, her pain only got worse. How would she ever forget this?_

 _A few moments of complete silence passed. But those seconds felt like an eternity filled with nothing but a deafening silence. And sometimes, silence hurt._

 _"There ya go."_

 _Flinching rather severely on the couch, it took everything Lightning had not to fall down the couch. Instead, she only stared at the freshly made pesto surrounding the pasta Fang had made. She wanted to feel grateful, she wanted to thank her for it, but the words refused to come out of her mouth._

 _"How was your day?"_

 _"Terrific, Lightning replied with a grin, "I'm having the best time of my life."_

 _"Lightnin'… Please stop. Please stop blamin' me."_

 _She swallowed her saliva hard and glanced up from the plate. "I never blamed you."_

 _"Oh. I thought wrong then."_

 _Lightning frowned, glaring at her wife eating her pasta without looking up. Heart and mind started to fight against one another, logic against reason unable to make up their minds around the situation, struggling to find a reason to let either of them win._ Or let both lose.

 _"Yes, clearly. Not everything is about you, Fang."_

 _"When I look at you right now, and for the past days I just try to understand. I try, Lightnin', trust me." She stared bug-eyed at Fang, unable to breathe anymore. "I know you're in pain, but don't you think that you have to accept it? I'm afraid as well, and I'm in pain. And all I see is you being devastated, bored, angry, in agony… And sometimes…I'm afraid that you don't care. I'm afraid that you're going to completely forget about your feelings and push them away, trying to become this wall you so desperately want to be._

 _"But I don't want to think about it. I think you're too scared to be in pain, and I know it hurts, Lightning. But I'm here and I want to be there for you and help you and make things easier for you because I love you. I know it seems small, but please, please don't forget who you are and who you were. Yes, things happen but I believe in you and I know that you're strong. And I know that together we can make it."_

 _For a moment, Lightning was only able to stare, unable to understand or process the words that had been said to her. But she did not mind for her brain to shut down all of its functions._

 _"If it makes me weak then fine… I'm weak."_

 _"That's not what I meant…" Fang sighed and closed her eyes. "Never mind."_

 _Frowning, Lightning picked up the glass from the table, gulped its content and bounced to her feet with a new undefined rage. Storming in the kitchen, she snatched the bottle of wine and poured herself what had been left in it, the glass soon going back to her lips for a long, painful swallow._

 _Staying at the island for a few moments, Lightning wiped a tear away from her cheek and glanced up at the ceiling, hoping to swallow back the ones she felt threatening to escape her eyes. Breathing in through her nose, she composed herself back together and after a mental kick, Lightning spun around and bolted back inside the living-room. However, to her greatest surprise, Fang was nowhere to be seen._

 _Her attention being drawn towards the sliding-window leading to the garden, Lightning glanced in its direction and was able to spot her wife standing still between the trees. Hesitating for a moment, she furiously shook her head and fell on the couch with her glass in hand, closing her eyes as loneliness and despair collided inside her mind. Clenching her free hand, Lightning pressed her knuckles against her forehead for a few moments, taping them against her skin harder, and harder to escape the inner-turmoil she was undergoing, trying to repress, push back and erase her sorrow, and her misery. But really, how could she now?_

* * *

 _Standing still, Fang calmed the thoughts in her mind and obliterated the picture of her wife's face away, the pain that had been washing over her never seeming to come to an end, no matter how hard she tried to help her. But she had come to a conclusion; Lightning did not want to be helped. But was it so wrong from her to keep on hoping she would reach out for the hand she had been handing for the past weeks? All she had wanted was for Lightning to grab it so she could perhaps pull her out of the darkness she had surrounded herself with._

 _Running a hand through her dark-colored hair, Fang slowly brought herself closer to the ground and sat down, her hands grazing the fresh lawn as she darted up at the cloudless sky. From behind, she could hear Lightning's glass of wine clicking against the table every now and then, alcohol having taken a new, special place in her day-to-day life. Frowning, Fang could not remember when the last time had been since she had seen her wife without a glass in her hand, red or white wine filling its content._

 _She too, had been wanting that glass to forget, to erase. But she had seen the effect, she had seen the pain only growing stronger every time Lightning had woken up in the morning, her eyes red-rimmed and the dark rings surrounding them only proving of how miserable her wife felt._

 _Covering her face with both of her hands, Fang let herself be drawn to pain, and soon, tears came rushing. Keeping her sobbing to a minimum, she only allowed her shoulders to shake as memories came crashing in, the sight of her son looking so small with a heart that had stopped, the pain she had felt and how easily it had been for her lungs to stop any income of air as she had crashed knees first to the ground, unable to comprehend or even believe that he had been taken away from her…from them and only in the blink of an eye. And the emotions on Lightning's face when they had driven home that had, one by one, faded away. And now, anger had taken over, and had ruled with an iron fist._

 _Pushing herself from the ground after a few more minutes, Fang took in all the courage, the patience and the love she could possibly muster and spun around on the sole of her boots, marching, head bowed, in direction of her wife who had not moved a muscle. Glancing up at her, the blue color of her eyes shone in her direction, a color that in time, had washed away._

 _Entering the living-room, Fang stood still under the frame of the sliding-window and gazed at Lightning with furrowed brows. When had she cheeks gone so hollow, nearly shadowing the lines of her jaw that had once been strong? When had the life in her eyes disappeared, only to reflect an empty shell of who Lightning truly was, a woman driven by confidence, success, love and utter joy? Had she let it happen because she too, had been focused on coping with the loss of their child, had she overlooked her wife, thinking that her help would not be needed?_

 _With a deeper frown, Fang moved from the window and rounded the coffee-table, hesitating as she stood over Lightning but decided, in the end, to take a seat next to her wife. Strangely, it seemed only now that Lightning became aware of her presence, grunting as she darted in her direction and pushed herself closer to the arm of the couch, her hand still clenched around her nearly empty glass of wine. But Fang did not care. Without thinking twice, she outstretched her arm and placed her palm against Lightning's knee, the warm sensation of her skin bringing unnecessary tingles to her fingers. When had it been since they had touched?_

 _"Light, look at me." Not surprised as her presence was not acknowledged, Fang breathed in a long breath._

 _With determination, she scooted closer, wrapped her arm around her wife's shoulder and pulled her closer, and no matter how hard Lightning tried to resist, Fang refused to cry defeat. Pushing her more to her side, they both struggled as one tried to move away and the other closer. But eventually, Lightning gave in and crashed her wet cheek against Fang's naked shoulder. They remained in this position for a long time, both of their sobs filling the room that had grown so silence of the week that both of their ears had started hurt._

 _"What happened, Fang," Lightning eventually spoke out as their tears had dried. "Is it my fault?"_

 _Opening her eyes in shock, Fang fidgeted on the couch, so she could face her wife. The pain in her eyes was almost enough to bring her back to the verge of tears, but swallowing them all back, she said; "No. None of this was your fault Lightning. No one could've…We couldn't have…" Clearing her throat as it had started to tighten, Fang blew out a breath. "No one could've known."_

 _"Why not," Lightning blurted out, her tone going back to its usual aggressiveness. "Why the fuck not?"_

 _Shouting at the top of her lungs, Lightning bounced from the sofa and nearly pushed Fang to the ground. Deadpan as her wife stormed out of the living-room without an additional word, Fang's anger also decided to come alive but chose wisely to stay put._

 _"We could've done something," Lightning shouted as she stepped back inside the room with a new bottle of wine in her hand, "and we did nothing!"_

 _"What could we have done Lightning," Fang said louder, "Neither ya or I have the possibility to look at the future, do we now?"_

 _"Anything," she screamed._

Flinching, Fang stared at the screen of her laptop, the video now having come to an end. Closing it back, she pushed the device away and laid down on the couch, her fingers intertwining at the nape of her neck as her legs crossed at the ankles. Blowing out a ragged breath, she fought for the memories to keep where she had hidden them far too long ago. But the more she fought, the harder they became to ignore.

 _"I should've taken an appointment sooner and make sure everything was fine, but I was so overwhelmed with work that I forgot! And oh, I thought that the morning-sickness was part of it but I should've known that something was wrong! And with you gone from morning to evening for you stupid, fucking radio, who had I to talk to it about, uh?"_

 _Fang frowned and stood up from the couch. Settling her gaze that had turned to a glare on her wife, she took a step forward, intent on throwing that wretched bottle of wine away. "It's my fault then, is that what you're sayin'," Fang drawled, her lips curling upward to display a mirthless smile. "I'm sorry if my work took me too much time or taking the time to educate our daughters for that matter because as far as I'm concerned," she said with a finger pointing at her own chest, "when they have a problem, or are sick during the night, you're the one that's not here!"_

 _Growling under her breath, Fang observed as Lightning poured herself her umpteenth glass of wine, oblivious of the darkening look she received in exchange._

 _"My work takes me time," she shouted, straightening her spine, "don't you think I'd rather be here at home?"_

 _"Then act like ya give a damn about the people around you when you are," Fang screamed back. "Because believe it or not Lightnin', your daughters are missin' you! And oh, guess what, I do to!"_

 _"What the fuck do you expect me to do, Fang? To pretend that everything is okay? Would that be more pleasant to you, to think that I'm okay and not fucking dying inside?"_

 _"I want you to show me how you're truly feeling!" Taken a step forward so their noses would almost touch, Lightning's warm and alcohol-scented breath made its way up to hers. "What the hell do you expect me to do when you're not even talking to me any more Lightning? All I see when I come home is you, sitting on a stool and drinking your ass off and for what? To forget so that in the morning it can hurt you even more?"_

 _"It's how I fucking cope, Fang," Lightning screamed to her face. "I wish, oh I wish I was like you and keep on living my days like…like nothing even happened."_

 _Disgust washed over her face like a fuse that had been lit. She gaped deadpan at the woman she loved, incapable to handle the cruel lies she believed to be the truth._

 _"Is that what you think," Fang asked, her tone more composed but still sharp, "that I don't care? That I'm fine?"_

 _Lightning nodded._

 _"Well guess what, Lightning," she roared, "I'm not. Fucking. Fine! There's not a day that goes by without me feeling like shit, without wanting to tear down everything away because of what happened." She paused and pressed her finger against Lightning's heart. "Don't you dare tell me I don't care."_

 _Grunting, Fang spun around on her boots and marched towards the kitchen. Picking her car keys, she threw the dirtiest of glares in her wife's direction, her jaw severely clenching as her head popped from under the frame of the door._

 _"I'm going for a ride. I can't even look at you right now."_

 _"Then get the fuck out of here," Lightning said. Already marching towards the door, Fang listened as Lightning's shouting exceeded 120 decibels. "Get the fuck out of here and don't fucking come back!"_

 _With the handle in her palm, Fang yanked the door open and slammed it back so hard she knew a few paintings would have tilted. But at this point, she did not even care. Snatching her phone from her pocket, she pressed on sister's name as she entered the car, the engine roaring as she turned the keys in the ignition._

 _"Vanille," she barked as her sister picked up the phone, "I'm on my way to your place. See you in ten," and hung up before she would have anything to say._


	20. Find Me

**I've written this chapter on a few songs and there is one song I really enjoy. It's called _Find Me_ from Forest Blakk if you ever want to check it out. I hope you'll like what I've written...If not, feel free to tell me what you would've preferred! I'm open to critics :D **

**xx**

* * *

"I said I'm fine," she repeated once more, "I'm not in pain and _if_ I am I have my medicine. I'm perfectly fit to go back to work!'

"Mom you said that yesterday before sleep and I woke up to you crying in your sleep, you're not fine. And you need time to heal!" Rolling her eyes, Lightning marched in direction of the door, its access now being strictly blocked by her other daughter. Elia reminded her of Fang at that very moment, confident and surely not ready to give in to her pleadings, no matter how hard she'd try to bargain.

It was something she had begun to realize over time, the likeness between Elia and Fang and the more she grew up, the harder it was to distinguish them. Elia's hair was the same dark color, the same length and nearly the same messiness Fang had always worn like a trademark, and her green eyes…Elia had inherited them as well. But never before had she look as resolved as today, and the resemblance was uncanny.

She crossed her arms across her chest, giving Elia her most determined look but still, the young brunette refused to budge, her arms still widely spread to cover up the door. But the smile on her daughter's face as the doorbell chimed through her house brought her eyebrows to quirk up a few inches only to be severely sewed together. Whoever stood behind that door was bad news, and Lightning had become used to her two daughters' endless scheming.

As Elia opened up the door, Lightning found herself surprised to see her sister standing on the patio with a smile on her lips and a bag of groceries in her hand.

"Hey sis, Rhea called, said you needed help to keep you busy…" she scanned her from head to toe and shook her head ever so slightly, "but now I know it's really to keep you indoors."

"Hey, Serah. Yes, they insist I stay here when all I want is to go to work," Lightning replied with a glance in Rhea and Elia's direction, "where I am going _now_."

"Actually Light…I can't let you do that either. Girls? Lock the doors."

Taken aback and slightly forced to take a step back with a push on her shoulder, Lightning gazed, deadpan, as she observed her sister taking part in her daughters' idea for a kidnapping. Or a forced stay behind four walls. Uncrossing her arms, she dropped her bag on the ground and turned around with a heavy sigh, annoyed to be left with her thoughts. She had been wanting to go to work for one reason, and one reason only: to put aside the fact she had foolishly demanded her ex-wife to kiss her two hours after a surgery that had left her groggy…But not enough for her to forget.

No, the way she had kissed Fang, and the way Fang had kissed her was printed in her mind like a vicious reminder of the stupid decisions she always tended to make, no matter how old she was. And work could've helped. It would've kept her distracted, detached and far from her usual overthinking. Because in the past twenty-six hours, all Lightning had been able to think about was just. That.

She hadn't cried from pain during the night. She would've preferred it to be pain, she oh so would've loved for her scar to burn and sting, to make her physically feel something else. But no. Her tears had come from regret because of a mistake she had made a long time ago. A mistake she had made when she had asked, or even forced Fang to leave her house -their house- after a heated argument where alcohol mixed with pain and anger had turned their lives into an inferno destroying everything around them. But this wasn't something new now, was it? It had been months since Lightning had realized how involved she had been in their marriage falling apart, and how she had blamed it all on Fang.

"Light?"

"Yeah," she said without tearing her eyes away from the swimming pool they hadn't used in months. "I'm going to clean the pool."

"Do you need help?"

She shook her head as an only response and headed down the corridor, back to her bedroom. It was mid-March now, and the heat in Los Angeles had slowly begun to rise. It wasn't unbearable, but she knew that after only five minutes in the sun cleaning the thirty-five by fifteen feet pool, sweat would be her friend. Therefore, she entered her bedroom with a fast paste and undressed as fast as her body allowed her to, so she could finally get her mind occupied on _anything else_ but her.

Only two minutes later did she burst out of the room wearing a one-piece swimsuit. It suited her well and covered the bandage over the scar from any splash of water. Her daughters gazed at her confused as she sauntered from the living-room to the closet with a broom, sponges, bucket and disinfectant in hand but in return, Lightning only warmly smiled.

"I'm going to clean the pool girls. I think it's way past time we've stopped using it."

Lights flickered in their eyes. "Are you serious," Rhea said, positively beaming.

"Dead-serious. But I'm going to do it alone. Why don't you help Serah cook her famous chicken? I've recognized the supplies."

"Sure thing mom!"

Within seconds, both of her daughters were gone, and the smile she had kept on faded away just as quickly. Staring back at her garden, Lightning let out yet another sigh and walked out of the house in her flip-flops, already feeling the heat of the sun reverberating on the tiles of the terrace. She placed the broom and bucket on the ground, went back inside to retrieve her purse and made a final exit out with her sunglasses on her nose, her hair tied in a bun on top of her head and her headphones in. She'd need the music to keep her thoughts solely focused on cleaning.

The playlist she had chosen was one Rhea had created for her during her stay at the hospital, after the _incident_. Today was the first time she had allowed herself to listen to it. She knew her daughter would find yet another clever way to pester her about Fang, and when it came to music, Rhea was exactly like her mum: driven on finding the new gem, the one song no one else knew but her. And the first song she heard was precisely that. Something new, something different and foremost, something that suited her all too well.

Glancing at her arm and pressing on the home-button under the plastic, Lightning gazed at the name of the artist. She did not know who Amy Shark was, but the lyrics she sang were hitting her close to home. _Leave Us Alone_. That was the title. Already in the pool with a bucket full of water from the hose, Lightning kneeled down on the ground and scrubbed the dirt from the rain and leaves that had fallen during the Fall. She scratched hard with the sponge, letting the rhythm of the song controlling her every gesture.

A smile came to her lips at one particular sentence. _Pulling away from your cigarette, arms around you are you feeling it, I need to know is it all my fault?_ Rewinding the song, she listened to the sentence again, and again…and again.

"Is it," she said aloud, hoping for a reply, "Is it my fault?"

Serah looked at the nape of her sister's neck. She had asked her a question, but hadn't gotten any response in return so, deciding to get her sister out of her earplugs, she walked closer only to hear her ask one question.

"Is it my fault?"

* * *

Serah knew the question was not meant for her, but it did not hurt her any less. She wanted to help Lightning as much as she could. But now, she knew who the only person would be able to do that. Fang was the answer. Fang had always been the answer to everything. She could still remember the first day she had met Fang. She wasn't even aware of her sister's homosexuality, but who could've blamed her? In the late nineties, being involved with someone of the same sex was still badly considered. But Lightning had decided to tell her. Because she was family, and family was all that mattered. Yesterday, now, and tomorrow.

 _She pushed the papers away from her desk and looked at the clock. It was ten in the night and Lightning was still nowhere to be seen. Snow had been gone for half-an-hour. Serah was beginning to worry. It had always been like that, between both of them. When someone said they'd be home by nine, you had forty-five minutes before starting to picture the worst-case scenario, and for the past fifteen minutes, Serah had pictured every single way her sister could die on a Friday night._

 _Jumping from her chair, Serah exited her bedroom and emerged in the highly-lighted living-room. She paced around for what seemed like hours but knew it had only been two minutes, tops, when keys jiggled in the lock, and the door was pushed open. And in all her worry controlled but anger, Serah walked in two quick strides towards the door, ready to shout._

" _Light! I was worried sick," she yelled at her face, "I thought you were…I don't know where! You said by nine, it's freaking ten o'clock!" She could feel her heartbeat on her temple, and no matter how apologetic her sister looked, Serah pilled on like a dog with a bone. "I'm always there on time, I'm always home when I say I'll be even if I'm with Snow, so you sure better have an explanation for you being late and oh, guess what, having me worried!"_

 _Turning around, Serah stormed back inside the living-room with a look so dark she could've turned a statue into in even harder stone. But as she glanced back at the door and so Lightning accompanied by another person, her mouth closed back shut and her cheeks reddened faster than liquid nitrogen._

" _Oh. I'm sorry I didn't…"_

" _Don't worry," Lightning said with a smile do dazzling it made Serah flinch, "we were on the patio, but we had some things to discuss." Serah observed as the woman with the dark-brown hair standing behind her sister smiled._

 _She was pretty. She probably was one of the prettiest girls she had seen on her short life-time of nineteen years, but there was no mistaking it. This woman was a gem. She didn't quite know if her green powerful eyes were the reason why she felt this way, or her smile, truthful, honest and bright was the reason the room suddenly felt more illuminated…But she also knew that the look this woman gave to her sister wasn't one of a friend. And the second Lightning looked in that woman's direction, Serah made all the necessary connection in her mind._

 _For weeks, Lightning had made the same smile. A smile showing how stupidly in love she was. She had seen that smile on Snow and had seen it on her own face whilst looking in the mirror, but there was something different, and better to see her own sister, a person she had thought to be cold and made of stone, smile at one person in particular. It didn't matter if the recipient was a woman. For all Serah knew, love knew no boundaries._

" _Serah, this is Fang. My girlfriend."_

" _Hiya. It's nice to meet ya."_

 _Serah stared for a few moments. The accent added another layer on how sublime this woman was. Swallowing her saliva, she handed her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you too."_

 _The woman, Fang, held a strong grip around her hand but her line of sight diverted back to Lightning. This was real. Lightning was happy. And for some reason, Serah knew that Fang would be the one bringing her happiness for a very, very long time._

* * *

"Light!"

Squinting her eyes, she looked up from the pool and gazed back at her sister. Only now could she smell the delicious scent of lime, onions, rice and chicken being slowly cooked. "What's up," she asked.

"I think the pool is clean enough now? You've been there for more than an hour now!"

Lightning stood up and gazed at the swimming pool. Indeed, she had cleaned every inch of porcelain available. There were no remains of dirt, leaves or insects. She had done her job, and that without thinking once about Fang. She grinned at a job well done, and with the help of Serah, managed to throw her utensils away from the pool, as well as her own body. Now, the only thing she needed to do was to throw water, wait for a few moments and then…Then, everyone would be able to enjoy a swim under 75 degrees. _With_ a possible glass of wine in hand.

"Ready to eat?"

"Starving," Lightning said, "outside?"

"Sure thing. Go take care of your bandage, we'll handle things."

"I'm fine, I can help Serah."

"Don't make me argue with you Light. Just this once let me help."

Throwing both of her hands in the air, Lightning chuckled as Serah went back inside the house with a victorious look on her face and focused back on the last task at hand. Massaging her shoulder to relieve the tension that had built, Lightning was not surprised as knots had already started to form in her muscles. After all, working out had never been something she enjoyed doing, and she considered cleaning a swimming-pool exactly that.

How dipping her toes in the cool water seemed like paradise. But first, the pool needed water. Turning around on her flops, Lightning marched in direction of the hose like a soldier and after turning the water on, tossed it inside the blue hole with a radiant smile on her face.

"Wow, mom! You did a hella good job!"

"It appears I have," she replied with a quick look in Elia's direction.

"Food is served! What do you want to drink?"

"I think I still have a bottle of wine from a couple of days ago, I'll go grab it doesn't…"

"No sit, mom! I'll get it."

Elia was already gone before Lightning could say anything. How she hated it when people felt the need to take care of her because of some silly things. The surgery had gone well, and even though the scar stung from time to time, there was no reason to believe she would be better of on her death-bed. Sighing out of misery, she walked towards the table near the glass window and heavily sat down on one of the wooden chairs Serah had retrieved from the basement. She gazed at the plates, the glasses and the salad her sister and her daughters had prepared, the smell of lime and wine mixed with the chicken bringing the small hair on her arms almost to attention.

Closing her eyes and elbowing on the table, Lightning only smelled as she waited for the rest of her family to come back from the kitchen, the clicking of a glass on the table bringing her attention back to reality. Smiling as Rhea poured her glass of wine, she however noticed the shy look in her eyes as she pointed at the bottle and at her own glass, hopping that she too, would be able to enjoy the delicacy with another.

"Go ahead," Lightning said with a small shake of the head, "I prefer it when I can see you drink. Which reminds me, your birthday is in three days Rhea. Have you called your family?"

"Yep," Rhea said with the glass of wine already at her lips, "everyone is accounted for. Except for Hope, he's out of town because his mother fell and broke her leg."

"Oh", Lightning answered, "I wasn't aware."

Grabbing the salad and putting a few leaves on her plate, Lightning passed the dish to Elia before snatching a piece of meat with lust along with rice and sauce.

"Thanks for the meal. It smells delicious."

"Did you know your daughters could cook so well," Serah asked after chewing on the chicken and gasping with pleasure, "I was impressed!"

"Yes. We used to cook together with the girls and…And Fang," Lightning replied, "I think that Lasagna, Bolognese and roast were our favorite things to cook."

"Oh my god yes," Elia retorted, "I'm way better than Rhea when it comes to cooking though!"

"Hey! That's not true!"

Lightning smiled at the conversation and gazed back at her sister. Chuckling, the two of them clicked their glasses of wine and swallowed a mouthful of it. It had been a while since Serah had come over for lunch just because the mood struck her. Although she had been part of a plan, Lightning did not feel as angry as before and cleaning the pool had helped with keeping her mind occupy.

But now, what would she do? Sure, the lawn still needed to be cut and the flowers to be picked but the pain in her shoulders had started to spread to her arms and making it worse was not part of her plan. Glancing over her shoulder after twenty minutes and a fantastic meal, Lightning stood up from her chair with her glass in hand and observed as the water now filled half of the pool.

It would take twenty more minutes before anyone'd be able to swim but that didn't bother neither of her daughters. Before she knew it, both Elia and Rhea were marching down the ladder in their swim-suits and simultaneously shrieked as the cold water touched their stomachs.

"What did you expect, of course it's cold!" Turning around, Lightning pointed a finger at her sister. "Tell Snow to come with Dan. I'm sure they'll both enjoy the time out."

"Good idea," Serah said before disappearing inside the house.

"Rhea? Call your mother, would you? I don't think she's working on Saturdays."

"Mom, are you…are you sure?"

"I am." She smiled. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but Fang was her family whether she liked it or not.

* * *

It took Fang a few seconds to answer the phone. With a heartbeat drumming inside her chest, she first needed to catch up with her breath before being able to properly speak. Looking up at the sun brightly shining over the sea, she breathed in and out and finally pressed on the microphone of her headphones.

"Rhea, what's up? Everything good?" She hated how worried her voice sounded. But the thought of Lightning having a severe reaction to the surgery had been in her mind for more than a day…among other things.

" _Hey, mum! Everything's fine! Mom cleaned the pool and it's ready for a swim! She told me to call you! Can you come?"_

Arching a brow and wiping a few drops of sweat from them, Fang gazed upon the ocean in silence. "Uh…I guess?"

" _Come on! Everyone is coming!"_

"Ugh, alright, alright. Let me get back to my car and I'm on my way."

" _Great! Oh! Can you…buy beer? Snow is bringing some food and all but we don't have a lot of alcohol."_

"This is still your mother's house, right," Fang teased, already trotting back towards her car.

" _Oh snap!"_

"I'll buy beer. See ya in fifteen minutes."

The connection came to an end and was immediately replaced by her work-out playlist. It had been ages since Fang had made the decision to go out for her run, but after hours of pacing around in her apartment thinking about what she had avoided to think about, she had decided to simply clear her head with a nice run along the beach. And God had it been invigorating. For more than an hour, all she had done was to run in rhythm with her songs, letting go of any control she had on her body.

And after a night like the previous one, losing control couldn't have been better. She couldn't quite remember the number of gin and tonics she had swallowed from nine until two in the morning but based on the blinding headache she had felt upon waking up at ten o'clock, Fang _knew_ she hadn't been reasonable _at all_. But she had needed it. She had needed those drinks because of the shame she had felt, a shame that had transformed into pain and then boiled into a blinding rage.

She hadn't been quite able to keep it under control. It had emerged so quickly that even now, Fang wondered what had caused such a strong reaction. Had it been their kiss? Had it been _that_ , that had bothered her so much? She doubted it. For all she knew, the kiss Lightning had forced upon her and one she wouldn't have resisted had been one of the things that had given sensation back in her hands and feet again. Had she been angry because for some reason, she'd knew Lightning would ignore what had happened, or worse, forgetting it had occurred? This had angered her, surely.

Accelerating her pace again, Fang cursed at herself for letting her thoughts get the better of her. Even music couldn't quiet them down anymore. More than an hour forcing herself to ignore her feelings, and they all seemed to come crashing in even more viciously than before. She could feel her skin burning, her brain working too hard, too quickly and too intensively. She needed answers, just like she had needed them for the past three years. But this time, Fang had enough. She had enough of the lies, of the hate, of the harsh words and the ice-cold eye-contacts. She had enough of the distance that had kept on digging between them. So, if Lightning continued to ignore their situation, Fang wouldn't. It was well passed time to change things, once and for all.

Speeding even faster than before, Fang felt like flying over the sand, her feet splashing water on her sides the harder her steps sunk into the ground. The thought of Alex had also annoyed her. Perfect Alex, with her perfect accent and her perfect job. How she hated her. How she hated the woman who cared for the one she loved, how she wanted to wipe her perfect toothy smile away from her perfect face. _Alex_. Grunting, Fang hit the ground harder. She truly hated Alex.

 _All I wanna do is bang-bang-bang-bang…And take your money._ Now she remembered. Like a vicious knife stabbing her in the heart, she remembered how her anger first appeared. It arose because she was sad. Devastated, even. All the feelings she had repressed had crashed. They had crashed hard and they had hurt. So, she did exactly what she had seen, and what she had hated to see. She simply poured herself some gin, some tonic, and let the sadness be replaced by anger.

It had been foolish, that is true, and the pain in her fist was a nice souvenir her wall had left her during a fit of rage. The bruise would fade, as would the swelling it had caused. But she would remember the day she couldn't hold it in any longer. The day when she understood.

In the distance, Fang knew she had finally made her way back to her car. Rhea's call had been perfectly timed, as the soreness of her muscles had slowly started to appear, and a dip in fresh water to relax them was something she couldn't wait to experience again. _Light is here too_ , a little voice whispered in her ear, _she's here too, you do realize that, right? Are you going to face her today, days before your daughter's birthday? You always liked to throw gasoline on fire. Both of you did. Why not continue?_

She pushed the thoughts away with a wave of her hand, her car-keys jiggling in the other. In less than one minute, her car was already back on the road, driving in direction of the hills. _Beer. Right_. Stopping at the first gas-station she saw, Fang was out and back inside her car with two packs or twenty-four beers each, and nearly reaching Lightning's house only minutes later.

She could see the house now, and the closer she got, the slower she drove her car. She could feel her hands shaking on the wheel, no matter how hard she tried to squeeze it. Her heart was beating faster than ever, and the headache she had gotten rid of suddenly came back running in her direction. How she hated this anticipation. Even years later, Fang was always afraid of what might happen. It took only five minutes for the to argue, less sometimes. All she hoped as she parked the car next to the house, was that this time, the atmosphere would remain calm…And peaceful.

Jumping out from behind the wheel, Fang sauntered in direction of the house with the two packs of beers, and her bag on her back. She quickly recognized Snow, Serah and Vanille's car, surprised to see her sister had agreed to come and spend time with the rest of the Farron. A smile tugged at her lips as she pictured them all, her entire family simply hanging out by the pool with their feet in the water and a beer in their hand. How long had it been since they had all hung out together?

"Mum you made it," Elia said as she opened the front-door, "I heard a car and figured it might be you! Come on in!"

Grinning, Fang followed her daughter inside the house and placed one of the packs on the counter. "I'm guessing everyone will want one?"

"You got that right!" Glancing to her right, Fang smiled in direction of Snow standing in his bathing suit near the garden. "Let me carry those"

"Please, I'm not weak! I carried them all by myself!"

"Ha, I know. You almost beat me at arm-wrestling once. My arm was sore after that."

Laughing whole-heartedly, Fang followed her daughter and Snow towards the garden and gazed at the scenery in front of her. In the pool, happily swimming were Vanille and Rhea helping Dan as he painfully managed to keep his head out from under the water. On a long-chair sat Serah with a glass of wine in hand and next to her stood Lightning, turning her back at the house.

For a few seconds, Fang let her eyes wander across her body. Wearing a one-piece suit, Fang could easily trace the outlines of her body. It had been a while since she had seen Lightning's naked legs.

"Hey Fang, you made it!"

"Hey Van. Yeah I did," Fang said as she quickly glanced up. Lightning turned around and gave her a small bob of the head accompanied by a smile. "Ya'll don't mind if I stay in my underwear? I didn't bring a swimming-suit."

"You were out," Serah asked with undivided attention and a slightly aggressive tone.

"I went for a run, yeah."

"Wait Fang. I have a swimsuit for you," Lightning said. "Come with me."

Clearing her throat and ready to refuse the offer, as kind as it was, Lightning was already marching passed her without taking no for an answer. After placing the pack on the ground, Fang turned around and wandered back inside the house, wondering if the sweat forming on the nape of her neck was because of the heat, her run...or her nervousness.

Every time Fang found herself in the house, she was surprised about how little it seemed to change. She had been here twenty years ago, and though they had added rooms and made the garden bigger than it once was, the inside was still the same. The same arrangements even though the furniture had changed, the same smell, the one of a happy home.

"Fang?"

"Hm? Yeah, right! Sorry." Entering the room, Fang was puzzled to find herself in front of Lightning. Unaware of where to look, she darted at her feet and asked the first question in her mind, "how's the scar?"

"It's alright," Lightning answered with the same shy smile, "it stings and with the sun I figured a one-piece was more appropriate. I don't even remember when I bought this, I always hated them."

"I think Lebreau bought it as a joke…A long time ago."

"Oh right!" Fang watched as Lightning handed her a two-piece swimming-suit. "Yes, the kids were six and eight. Rhea said I lacked any kind of style when I tried it on." The laugh coming out of her ex-wife's mouth made her shiver. Not from fear, but from something else. Something much stronger. "Oh in any case. I'm going to let you get change…I'll meet you by the pool?"

"Yeah, sure thing." She gazed at her walking out of the room but intercepted her before the door closed. "And Light? Thanks for inviting me."

She didn't receive an answer, but the smile Lightning threw in her direction was enough. For as long as Fang could remember, anytime Lightning had felt shy about something happening, or something someone said to her, she'd always wear that same smile. Her cheeks also turned red, when the compliment was too much for her to handle, and a reddening Lightning must've been one of the sweetest sights there was.

Dressed in the bikini -one slightly too short- Fang made her way back to the pool in long strides and before giving anyone a smile, she jumped into the pool like a bomb, splashing water everywhere around her.

"Fang you idiot," Vanille shouted, both amused and slightly aggravated, "I have water in my glass now!"

"Oh, poor you," Fang taunted back as her head popped out of the water. She widely grinned in her sister's direction and wondered where Lightning had gone to. She wasn't outside anymore. "Where's Light?"

"She's changing her bandage," Rhea said with a shrug, "said it needed some cleaning."

"Well she did sweat a lot today," Elia continued as she slipped inside the water.

"She really cleaned the pool," Fang asked surprised, avoiding the splashed her younger daughter threw her way.

"Why yes Fang, I did clean the pool," Lightning said as she emerged from the living-room, "all by myself." The proud smile she wore made Rhea cackle, and it wasn't long before she was thrown inside the pool, head-first. "That'll teach you, mean daughter of mine!" Laughter echoed around the neighborhood.

Rhea pestered but quickly found a smile to stick on her lips as she pursued her younger sister underwater. Serah, Daniel and Vanille were in a conversation, and the two former sisters-in-law seemed to be getting along quite nicely… But for some reason, Fang felt uneasy. What if everything happening today was just smoke and mirrors, a one-time thing only seeming like a good time?

"Fang? Where'd you go," Snow asked with a beer handed in her direction.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't go anywhere else but here," she whispered for only him to hear. "This is…"

"Just like old times?"

She chuckled and elbowed at the edge of the pool, gazing at Lightning talking with Serah, Vanille and Daniel before looking back at Snow. "Just like old times, yeah."

* * *

Everyone had made their way back inside the living-room. Showers had been taken one by one, but Lightning had decided to stay by the pool just a little bit longer in order to think, alone. It had been twenty minutes now that she had slipped her feet under water but the cold still hadn't made its way up her spine. Perhaps was it the wine she had been drinking during the day that had kept her warm, or the feeling of closeness she had sometimes shared with Fang. How shivering it had been when their shoulders had touched.

But still, Lightning knew what was coming. She knew Fang wanted to talk about what had happened. She knew she'd want an answer to _why_ she had kissed her. But truth was, Lightning didn't know why she had wanted to kiss her. She had wondered, time and time again what it had meant. Did it have to mean something, anyway? Yes. She knew this hadn't been a mistake. It hadn't been something she hadn't thought about.

"Hey, Light? Can we…talk?"

She nodded and scooted on the edge of the pool, her glass back to her lips. "Sure."

"Ya know…what about?"

"I have a few things in my mind," Lightning replied without ever looking in Fang's direction. She simply waited for her to take a seat, pouring herself yet another glass from the bottle she had kept by her side.

"First… What did ya get Rhea for her birthday?"

Surprised, Lightning casted a glance that immediately turned into a long gaze. "I uh, she wanted some new speakers and a new headset. I got her both. Why?"

"Well, I want to take her on a trip. I was thinking to Sydney for ten days. Would ya be okay with that?"

Lightning smiled and slowly nodded. "Of course, Fang. Be prepared for Elia's wrath however."

"I've already told her about it. She made me swear that when she turns eighteen, we'll go to Iceland." Fang paused and chuckled. "They'll never stop bargaining."

Letting out a long sigh, Lightning grabbed a cigarette from her packet and placed a stick between her lips, surprised as a flame appeared before her eyes. She puffed hard on the cigarette but blew the smoke as quickly as it had entered her lungs.

"Did you know they kept me prisoner here today," Lightning said, glancing back at Fang. The brow arched on her forehead was interrogation enough. "Yes. I wanted to go back to work, but they had planned everything to the letter. Called Serah and made sure she'd be a part of it as well."

"Ya wanted to get back to work? Already? Light…"

"I know, it's early. But…I needed a distraction," she admitted.

"I know the feelin'." There was a moment of silence. Only the wind against the water broke it as it started to viciously spread. "How are ya feelin', Light? Really. Not what you're sayin' so no one worries."

Looking at the water, Lightning let out a painful sigh. "I'm fine. Really. I'm…sorry. Mostly. Well," she chuckled to her own stuttering, but ridicule had never killed anybody, right? "Sorry for what I said in the previous weeks. And years. Well. What I've said in the past years. I'm truly sorry, Fang."

Fang was the one to dart away this time. She had heard Lightning apologize after Christmas and had reacted…Not like she had been supposed to react. "I'm the one who's sorry. For what I told ya when ya said I'd be best if I stayed."

"I'm glad you did, stay I mean" Lightning interjected. "Sorry. Bad habit."

"Ha, no worries. But Light?" There it was. The question. The one fucking question she did not want to hear, the one she had dreaded. "Why did you kiss me?"

She breathed in and kept the air inside her lungs, staring at the stars in the sky. The silence spread around them but inside, everything was loud. Voices were screaming at her, voices from the past she had wished to forget and voices of the future she had pictured and imagined oh so long ago. She had pictured Fang sitting on the grass with Rhea and Elia, chatting about their days and how it had went whilst she would stand on the terrace with a smile on her face. _And you know_ , Fang would say, _that's when I knew your mom and I belonged together. By looking at the stars. The passion in her eyes while I could only look at her…for an eternity._

Words she had said, long ago. When everything was fine. When life hadn't decided to become complicated, ruthless and cruel. For so long, Lightning had looked at that front-door, hopping it would be her jiggling the keys inside the lock. For so long she had wanted Fang to come back to her, to forgive her for what she had said, for what she had done. To forgive her for abandoning their hope, the one they once had when they had fought together. Because it's what they had always done, after all. Fighting together.

When Fang had gotten ill, they had fought it together. When Fang had a car-crash, they fought it together. When Lightning fell down the stairs of the hospital, they fought it together. There wasn't anything that they hadn't been able to face together, hand in hand. Hope had been their demise. Or, the false sense of hope.

She looked back at Fang…and smiled. That face, those eyes, her mouth. How she missed it all. How she missed every single part of her. The tantrums, the fights, the laughs, the messing around, the teasing, the sex, the breakfasts, the looking at the stars…She missed everything. The kisses in the morning when they would both wake up, entangled in sheets, not afraid of what would come. They could do it all, together. They could've done it all. _My fault._ They could've been happy together. _My fault_. They were happy. _My fault._ She still loved her. _I love her._

"I kissed you because I love you, Fang."

She smiled at herself. Finally, the weight was gone from her chest. Finally, she had admitted it to herself. Fang Yun would always be the one she loved, no matter what. And in her mind, there was nothing wrong with that.


	21. Chapter 21

Rhea was over the moon for two reasons. Mostly because today was her birthday an marking her eighteenth year on this planet, but also because of the events that had occurred on Saturday night, when everyone was at their home, enjoying the sun, the pool, the alcohol…It had been a perfect way to start the weekend. But when she had heard her mother, Lightning, say those words, her world had been rocked so hard it had nearly been impossible to keep it a secret. Not to Elia, however, as her younger sister was informed of the event barely twenty seconds after it had happened, dragging her back inside her bedroom for a private chat that had been filled with excitement.

From Sunday to today, all Rhea managed to keep in mind was another new plan. And in her mind, it was beginning with fireworks. Never would she had thought events would happen this way, in this order, and she only hoped Fang had answered with the same three stupid words. Because sadly, too existed when her mother had said them, Rhea had run as quietly as she had come, but quicker than ever before.

"Rhea, tu peux venir?"

Arching a brow at her mother's use of French, Rhea exited her bedroom with one of the biggest smiles she had carried to date. "What's up mom?"

"En français s'il te plaît," Lightning said with a stern look.

"Ugh. Pourquoi," she asked. Where did this come from anyway? It had been months since they had spoken French and she knew her mother would pick on every mistake she'd surely make.

"Parce que," Lightning said, "I say so. Now, French. Half-an-hour is all I'm asking."

"J'ai cru que c'était mon anniversaire!"

"Yes, it is your birthday," her mother continued in English, "but I'd appreciate it if you tried. Elia complied this morning."

"Ouais mais ça sert à quoi," Rhea asked. It was true. She didn't see the point to this futile exercise. It's only when she looked back at her mother that she understood the ruse that had been played on her. "Mom! That wasn't cool!"

"Oh, don't be like that. But in all honesty…" Lightning arched brow and tilted her head to the side. "What is it? What's that smile?"

Pinching her lips together, Rhea avoided looking at her mother more than she already had. But could you blame her? This was the definition of hope, and nothing else. And if anything, Lightning's eyes had shone more in the past days than they had in the last years. However, a question quickly came to her mind.

What would be of Alex? Would they still see each other, or would they decide to break things off? After all, it was the most intelligent solution. For all she knew, they had never been friends in the first place and had immediately skipped at the _girlfriend part_ of their relationship.

She snorted louder than she had planned but kept on ignoring the look her mother had been throwing at her. Her thoughts were nothing of her concern for the time being. Standing up from the kitchen stool, Rhea continued to fully ignore her mother and slammed her phone on the brand-new speakers Lightning had given to her in the morning, keeping the headset for the dinner with her family. Grinning, she selected the last added song and blasted the volume to a critical level and began to dance her way back inside the kitchen in front of her mother's both annoyed and amused look.

Elia, who had been studying in her bedroom, emerged inside the kitchen and was dumbfounded to find both mother and daughter dancing like lunatics. Using wooden spoons as microphones, she observed the scene with a smile spreading across her lips and was quick to join her family in what seemed to be a hell of a good time. Studying could wait for the time being. It had been too long since she had seen Lightning so happy, and Rhea's enthusiasm was too big to be ignored. Snatching a metallic spoon, Elia began to sing as loudly as her lungs allowed her to, falling into an embrace she had dearly missed.

Maybe Rhea was right, after all. She hadn't really believed what she had told her, about Lightning telling Fang completely out of the blue she was in love with her, but something _had_ changed. It was barely visible, to be quite honest, but Elia was no fool, and the smile on her mother's lips _was_ different. It wasn't full, but it wasn't as tight as it usually was, and the light in her eyes sparkled more now than last month or even last year. But why now, of all times? What had changed in the last weeks that had made her mother realize something Elia was sure she'd never admit? The thought puzzled her, but for now, seeing her mother this happy was more than enough.

"Alright, alright girls," Lightning said at the end of the song, "I need to start cooking for the dinner in…Damn it, in three hours! Where has time gone?"

"Too busy thinking about…what, mom," Rhea asked with a smile she painfully tried to keep at a minimum.

"Mostly about the dinner tonight and hoping it will go well. Why'd you ask?"

"Oh no reason," Rhea answered before disappearing back inside her bedroom. Unclothing, she slipped inside her bikini and bolted back out with a towel in her hand, and her hair tied in a tight bun on top of her head. A few blonde strands fell into her eyes, ones she quickly cast away with a push of the hand.

Smiling, she walked past her mother and sister but abruptly stopped before exiting the living-room. "Oh, mom, by the way, did I tell you Charlotte was also coming?"

"You didn't, but I figured she might. Don't worry, I counted her in," Lightning said after a short sip of beer, "is she spending the night too?"

"Yeah, she is. And on Saturday…I wondered if you could like…Not be here?" She tried to convince her mother only with a smile, but the expression on her face indicated how hard she seemed to be failing. "I just want to invite a few mates, Charlotte, Clara, Sam and Josh to…you know, celebrate?"

"You said mates," Elia said with a whole-hearted laugh, "fun."

"Shut up," Rhea ground out with a glare in Elia's direction. "Mom, please? Pretty please?"

Batting her eyelashes, Rhea squeezed both of her fists whilst her mother was taking another swig of beer. But when Lightning smiled and nodded, all of her anxiety was replaced with utter joy, and it was without hesitating, or thinking twice, that Rhea stormed in her mother's direction to give her a warm, true hug.

"Ouch, careful, I'm still partly made of sugar." Releasing the pressure, Rhea pulled her mother's shirt up and glanced at the bandage covering the scar. "It'll heal, don't worry. And I'll find something to do on Saturday."

"Maybe call Alex," Elia suggested. She received a glare from Rhea in return but was quick to ignore it. She wanted to see her mother's reaction to spending time with Alex, and the look on her face was information enough.

"I'll think about it. I might give Serah a call."

Rhea tilted her head to the side, noticing how red Lightning's neck turned. But, decided to keep on investigating without being caught red-handed, she simply placed a kiss on her cheek, thanked her again, disappeared in the garden, tossed the towel on a long chair and immediately jumped inside the pool.

She stayed underwater for a few seconds, looking blurrily at her surroundings but was not surprised as her sister joined in the moment her head popped out of the water. "So. What are you going to do Rhea?"

"For now, I'm going to enjoy the sun, my birthday and tonight a great dinner. I'm going to make sure mom and mum sit next to each other."

"Face to face would be better."

"Why?"

Sighing, Elia tossed the towel next to her sister's and climbed down the ladder, shivering as the cold water touched her stomach. "Because it's harder to avoid eye-contact when the person is facing you. Look." She came close to her sister and stopped before her eyes. She stood there a few seconds and then went to her side. "See? You have to look on the side constantly to see me."

"Fair point." Glancing down, Rhea stared at her feet underwater. "I'm not stupid, I swear."

"I know you're not stupid, Rhea. Where's that coming from?"

Fumbling her thumbs, Rhea dived under the water and let out a silent scream. It had been a few days now and even a few weeks since she had gotten that impression. Actually, it had been the moment Elia had decided to take a job to _keep herself occupied_. It was a good thing, and Rhea was proud of her younger sister, but in comparison, Rhea felt like an idiot unwilling to take part of life.

Her mothers hadn't said anything, but she had seen how proud they were of their little girl. Managing to keep straight A's for as long as she could remember and continuing to do so even though she worked from four to six every day, and Saturday morning at the coffee place. It was jealousy, plain and simple, but Rhea couldn't keep it out of her head. For days, she had been meaning to talk to Elia, but with her own problems, she had always hesitated.

"Rhea," Elia said from above, "Rhea!"

Popping her head back out, Rhea rubbed her eyes and gazed at her sister. "Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing's going on. It's fine." Swimming towards the edge, Rhea avoided the hand reaching for her shoulder and pushed herself out of the water. "Nothing."

In the past sixteen years, Rhea had heard her sister shout and scream out of frustration. She had seen her cry, she had seen her angry, she had seen her happy. But never had she heard her name being pronounced with such intense anger than today.

It resembled the roaring of a tiger, ready to attack its prey or defend its territory, but if one thing was certain, it was enough for her to turn around and stare at her with bulging eyes.

"What Elia, what the fuck?"

"I am so _sick_ of people treating me like I'm broken! No one ever tells me what's wrong, but always what's right! So fuck you and tell me now what the fuck is wrong with you!"

" _Language,"_ echoed through the garden.

Confused and shocked, Rhea glanced from the kitchen back to her sister. Her lips had begun to tremble out of anger. Never had she seen Elia so outraged.

"What? There's nothing wrong Elia, take a chill pill!"

"Oh please! There's obviously something wrong, so just for once, please, tell me what's going on!"

"I just feel like an idiot Elia! You're so perfect with your grades, your stupid job! I see the way mom and mum look at me like I'm some sort of retard and I hate it!" Staring right back at Elia, Rhea threw both her hands in the air, snatched her towel from the long-chair and marched in direction of the living-room like a charging bull.

Not paying attention to her mother, who had gazed at the entire scene, Rhea pulled out a packet of cigarettes from her purse she had left on the sofa and stormed back in direction of the garden faster than ever. With a cigarette tucked between her lips and a lighter already providing a flame, Rhea inhaled a long drag and kept the smoke inside of her lungs for a short moment before blowing it all away.

Anger had never been something she enjoyed. She had felt it much too strongly against her mother because of her own pettiness and being angry towards her sister had never been her plan. But jealousy had a way to distort your feelings and make them worse than they were. She shouldn't have shouted. She knew it.

"Rhea?"

"What," she asked after another drag, turning her back on her sister. Breathing in, Rhea felt her sister's presence by her side but refused to look in her direction.

"Rhea…Don't believe any of this. Mom and mum are proud of you and you know it. I took the job because it stops me from…from doing everything wrong."

"Yeah but…I feel like I'm not worth it. Like I'm the reject of the family."

"Please! You think either of them worked in their teenage years," Elia asked as she positioned herself in front of Rhea, intent on looking at her in the eye. "They didn't do anything at all, and mom isn't entirely happy about it. She thinks it's too much, and that I don't need it. Mum just waves it off because she's too concerned about my health." Reaching out for her hand, Elia gave it a soft squeeze. "You're far from stupid. Believe me."

Glancing up from the ground, Rhea gazed in sister's green eyes. She smiled as her words sunk in and pulled her into a hug with her cigarette far from either of them.

"Rhea! Cigarette, now!" Lightning shouted from the terrace.

"Shit," she whispered under her breath.

"Well, that was pretty stupid."

Taking a drag from the cigarette, Rhea turned around and sauntered in direction of her mother with a pout on her face. Handing her the fag, she sighed and made her way back to the pool without an additional word. She glanced back at the end of the garden, observing as Elia hadn't moved a muscle, or only to turn around and gaze at the view. _I'm such a selfish idiot_ , she thought with disdain.

Shaking her head ever so slightly, she pulled the towel off her body and tossed it back on a long-chair, facing back the clear water of the swimming pool. Elia was right, though. She wasn't stupid. After all, it was because of her that her mothers had managed to talk again, right?

* * *

Fang was standing in front of the door, ready to knock. But today, she was worried. Lightning loved her. Or still loved her, anyway. It had felt like a dream when she had said those words. She hadn't been able to respond right away, somewhat in shock and utter joy. How her eyes had shone when Lightning had talked, and how her heart had slowed down almost to a stop. It had been too good to be true.

But this time…Fang knew it had been real. It hadn't been like their kiss, quick and careless. It hadn't been like their fight, controlled by alcohol. This time, Lightning had meant each word. Or so she wanted to think. There was a part of her, dark and cruel, that had pushed her in the past days to mistrust her. But…It was Lightning. And she loved her. So why was it so hard to knock? God, she really hated herself sometimes. It was so easy to press her knuckles against the door, but she couldn't. She didn't want her dream to end. But…her dream had just begun and somehow, her nightmare had ended. So why not just knock?

"Hey Fang!"

Severely flinching, Fang turned around on the sole of her boots, nearly dropping the bottle of wine she had kept in her hand. She smiled at Charlotte and waved her hand in her direction. "Hiya Charlotte. Can't say I'm surprised to see ya here."

"Ha, yeah. I wasn't sure I was going to come, I figured Rhea'd want to be with her family."

"You _are_ family now," Fang said with her biggest smile. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are!"

Chuckling, Fang faced the door and let her hand slam against the door three times in a row. With a deep sigh, she gazed at the handle being turned and felt her heart skipping a beat as Lightning welcomed them both. Truth be told, she looked stunning.

Wearing a red dress with her hair falling on her shoulder and black heels giving her an uncanny presence, Fang found it hard to breathe. She gazed inside her deep blue eyes, the make-up he had put on darkening her look in a way she noticed was hard to resist. How could this woman be forty-six, when she looked like thirty? Incapable of moving, Fang continued to stare. She stared at this woman, the one who, not long ago, had told her the words she had been dreaming to hear. She fought the frown as hard as she could, but it was no use. Lightning had already seen it.

"Fang? Everything…alright?"

"Yeah, right, sorry. I brought wine," she said, handing the bottle to Lightning. "Lot of people there already?"

"Vanille arrived ten minutes ago. Hey Charlotte!"

"Hey Miss Farron! It's nice to see you again."

"Charlotte, I told you to call me Lightning, you're making me feel old!"

 _Like that's possible_ , Fang thought to herself as she walked down the hallway. Immediately, her eyes wandered to Rhea chatting next to the living-room window, a big smile drawn on her lips.

"Mum!"

"Hey you! Happy birthday, honey," Fang said as she opened up her arms for a tight hug. "I wish you everything and more."

"Thanks mum! And don't worry, things are starting to look nice," Rhea said with a wink. Arching a brow, Fang followed her out of the room and out of the house, giving Elia and Vanille a kiss on the cheek.

The scent of Lightning's perfume immediately invaded her vicinity and focusing on anything else but her became increasingly harder. _"I love you_." The words resonated in her head and hadn't stopped for the past three days.

 _And I didn't even reply_ , she thought to herself, her gaze now lost in the void. _I just…smiled. But what else was I meant to do? This isn't…This is fucked._

"Fang, you there?"

Fingers clicked before her eyes. Craning her neck to the right, she smiled at Vanille and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "Hey sis. What's up?"

"Not much. We haven't talked much the last few days," Vanille said with a shrug, "I kinda miss you."

"Yeah, I know. Been doing a lot between the kids and work. Plus…" She stopped herself and shook her head. "Nah, never mind."

"What Fang? What is it?"

She smiled but shook her head once again. "Forget it, it's nothing. Want a drink?"

"Uh, yeah…Sure."

The look on Vanille's face made Fang's heart slightly ache, but this wasn't something she wanted to share. Not yet. She needed to understand her own feelings before being able to talk about them, and if Vanille ended up getting hurt, then so it would be. It hadn't been the first time secrets had been kept between them.

Going back inside the house, she greeted Snow and Serah who had now arrived and avoided looking in her elder daughter's direction seemingly busy chatting with her girlfriend…among other things. With a smile, she went to the kitchen and froze at the sight of Lightning standing still in front of the fridge with her phone glued at her ear. From there and also because Lightning whispered, Fang couldn't quite make anything of the conversation, but her tone was indication enough. Lightning was angry, and an angry Lightning wasn't a sight Fang was dying to see, or at least, not just yet.

"No, I don't want to talk about it anymore." Fang bit her lip and slowly backed up, her eyes closing as her butt came into contact with the piece of furniture she had forgotten existed. "I'll call you another time. Goodbye." Opening up one eye, Fang winced as her only eye locked with Lightning's blue one's, but surprisingly, they weren't dark. They sparkled with mirth. "Listening in?"

Scratching the back of her head, Fang slowly shook her head. "Nah. I saw you were on the phone so I wanted to leave before you believed it, actually."

"Ah, don't worry," Lightning said with a smile, a bottle of white wine in her hand. "Wine?"

" _Please."_

The clicking of the glasses on the island reminded her of the sounds of their past, when both of them were too tired to think because of two screaming children and excruciating work schedules. However, her smile grew double as she pictured them here, face-to-face, fifteen years ago.

" _Serah please be careful with them," she heard Lightning say, her voice cracking with worriedness. "Call me if you need anything!"_

" _Light, stop freaking out, it's not the first time I'm taking care of them."_

" _Yeah Sis, we'll handle it."_

" _Snow, I'm very tired and scared, call me sis again and I'll shove my…"_

 _Jumping in, Fang grabbed Lightning by the hand and pulled her away from the door. "Oookay! See ya tomorrow guys yeah? Bye!"_

 _She watched as Serah nodded, winked and closed the door behind them both, finally leaving the two extremely tired mothers alone. Glancing to her right, she lifted up her hand and stroke Lightning's cheek, her blue eyes immediately drifting in her direction and strongly boring inside her own. The fear shimmering from them was heart-breaking to say the least, and Fang needed now more than ever, to keep her wife's mind distracted from any reminder of their daughter. This evening was for them, and no one else._

 _Squeezing her hand a little tighter in her own, she led them both towards the kitchen and after pointing a seat to Lightning, Fang snatched a bottle of white wine from the fridge, picked up two glasses and went on with delicately serving them both._

 _However, the worried look in her eyes and the clenching of her jaw had not disappeared. Giving her a small smile, Fang suddenly clicked her fingers together, rushed towards the living-room and came back with a radio and two different CD's she had made and had intended for Lightning to listen._

" _So, ya know how I love music and all?"_

" _Yeah," Lightning answered, her voice trembling._

" _Well…I made you…this." She pressed on the button and waited for the first song to start._

 _Not quite remembering which song she had put first, the first sound of guitar immediately rung a bell. With a smile, she gazed inside Lightning's eyes, the pain in them finally fading away ever so slowly only to be replaced by crinkling at their corners._

 _The song was Wonderwall from Oasis and was considered as a classic. And truth be told, it really was. The first time Fang had listened to this song, her first thought had immediately been for Lightning, her wife, her partner, her best-friend. Her everything. The only difference being that Fang knew Lightning had been the one to save her, just as she knew she had been the one saving her as well._

" _You did this for me," Lightning shyly asked, her cheeks turning to flames._

" _Of course. I know it's like a cliché, but I love you more and more each day…And I hadn't done the mix-tape yet."_

 _She chuckled, and the sound was enough to bring goosebumps to her arms. "I love you Fang."_

 _Coming closer, Fang pressed her lips against her wife's and slowly, she skirted around the counter of the kitchen. The kiss they shared was soft and filled with emotion and Fang refused to leave her lips. This is where hers belongs, now and forever. But after seven months of abstinence, it was her breathing that betrayed her body, and her body who betrayed her._

 _Grabbing Lightning by the nape of the neck, she pulled her closer, deepening the kiss for their tongues to touch, graze and meddle. She wanted all of her, right here, right now. And postponing it was no longer a suitable option._

" _Fang," Lightning managed to breathe between two kisses, "Fang?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Take me. Please. Now."_

 _Liquid Nitrogen couldn't have worked any faster. In an instant, Fang was leading Lightning back to their bedroom with a new-found vigor, her mind overloading with lust and desire. She pushed open the door and immediately spun around, pushing Lightning against the facing wall._

 _Staring inside her eyes, Fang did not hesitate to press her lips against her own again, her hands already snatching her t-shirt to take it off. There was no time to waste, and Fang craved feeling Lightning's naked body under her own. She wanted to touch her curves, to feel her skin, to listen to her breathing accelerating faster and faster. She wanted to make her hers all over again._

 _Lifting the shirt up and tossing it away in a corner of the bedroom, Fang took a step back and gazed at the wonderland in front of her. Lightning's skin was pale but the bra she had chosen was enough to understand that she too had thought of the exact same thing, and as Fang glanced back inside her eyes, the sheer hunger they reflected was enough for her knees to jerk._

" _Fang. It's been seven months," Lightning ground out._

" _What, I can't enjoy the view," she teased back, her smirk growing increasingly stronger._

 _Lightning frowned and took a step forward. She slowly began to push Fang backwards up until the point she found herself on the bed, her eyes at the ceiling. Looking down as her shoes were savagely ripped off her feet, her brows furrowed and with a hand behind Lightning's nape, Fang switched their positions without asking for permission and without second-guessing, unclipped the bra keeping her breasts prisoners._

 _Grinning at their sight, Fang slowly kissed her way down her neck and nibbled on her skin, her right hand already twirling around the hardening nipple. She squeezed it between her fingers and brushed its point with her thumb, listening as a soft moan escaped Lightning's parted lips and glancing up, it was all Fang could do not to viciously smirk as she continued her trail of kissing, her mouth landing on the second nipple, already harder than stone. Licking its top and continuing to graze the other with her fingers, Fang's own thighs suddenly became increasingly moist._

 _Lightning was right. It had been seven months. Looking up at her wife's face and catching a glance of her lustful eyes, Fang sneered and slowly lead her hand down her stomach, the feeling of Lightning's skin against her fingertips bringing her to a new state of oblivion but nevertheless, she continued her way until her fingers touched the button of her jeans. Immediately unbuttoning it, Fang slid her hand underneath her panties and was mesmerized by the warmth she was able to find._

" _Fang… I might kill you."_

" _Kill me eh, Sunshine," she said, pushing herself back closer to her lips, "don't you want to wait first?"_

" _I'm starting to hate you."_

" _Hold that thought."_

 _With a smirk, Fang pressed her lips against Lightning's once more and started to rub her finger between her legs and did not hesitate to slide one single finger inside of her._

 _The reaction was instantaneous, and Fang listened to her wife's moaning with delight. She pushed her finger harder between her legs and decided after a few seconds to add another one, Lightning's back arching over the mattress. Fang bit her lip at her sight, fighting as her own legs began to jerk over her, the need to be touched and savored increasing the more Lightning moaned._

" _Kiss me," she panted, her eyes flickering open, "Kiss me, Fang."_

 _She hadn't needed to be told twice. Instantly, their lips crashed against each other, teeth biting at their flesh. But Fang was far from over. Smirking, she lifted her head up and gazed at her wife's blue eyes before pressing a kiss against her neck, slowly making her way down her breasts, and started to nibble at its tip…_

"Fang? Are you okay?"

Flinching and focusing her attention back on Lightning, Fang felt her cheeks burning like fire. "Uh, nothing."

"Do you still want wine," Lightning said, the bottle still in hand, no glasses poured.

"Hit me."

She watched as her glass was poured and instinctively crossed her legs. Why, _why_ had her brain chosen this time to remember something like this?

"Alright, let's go back to the garden?"

Fang nodded, stood up and followed Lightning out of the kitchen, her footsteps heavier than usual. She was looking down at her feet, a weight crashing against her shoulders and pushing her further deep into the ground.

The doorway. She could see it now. She could perceive what held her back, what made her look back, and run away. What _pushed_ her away. But what was one more door? What was one more challenge if it meant living happily ever after? What was fear when it faced something you knew you wanted. Desired more than anything else, even. Was this what is was, fear? Fear of being hurt again, fear of feeling the same pain, the same agony that had crept through her heart so long ago…Even though it felt just like yesterday.

Fear. It was such a stupid emotion embedded in humans. Fear had always held people back, fear of rejection, fear of heartbreak. Fear of losing someone, to see them slip away from your grip, from your mind. The fear of failing again and causing yet again more pain than necessary. fear of…feeling.

Feeling. Maybe that was the problem, in the end. Feeling meant being hurt times and times again. It meant falling and getting back up with an additional wound. It meant pain, and sorrow…But then again, what was life without feeling except for a lonely dark hole, where light was never allowed? What was life without feeling, if even happiness was oblivious to you? Fear was part of the spectrum. And she knew it all too well. _Fear,_ she thought again, oblivious of her surrounding before looking around, her eyes watering with tears of regret.

Regret. There was another thing she hadn't been able to handle, that had devastated her more than once. _Regrets._ What were they, really? Events you had failed? Things you had screwed up? People you had hurt? _People you hurt._ Regrets were those little things that came back to hunt you at three in the morning, when you lied awake in your bed, wondering if you had done the right thing. Regrets were the things making you human, after all. Weren't they?

"Fang! We're waiting for you to toast!"

Looking to her left with heavily furrowed brows, her entire soul was shook at the sight of Lightning smiling in her direction. It brushed her heart and warmed her being fast and furiously. Yes. She loved her too. She had always loved her. Who even doubted it anymore?

* * *

 **Thank you for staying with me on this story. It's getting harder to write and it might still take a few more chapters to conclude the story, if not many, but thanks for sticking around. :) if you have remarks or anything my inbox is always open!**

 **Peace**


End file.
